Photosynthesis
by Lyra Sekai
Summary: Vader does the unexpected when gifted the daughter of a certain Jedi.
1. Chapter 1

**Photosynthesis **

(I'm just a beginner author practicing her writing (and trying to figure out Fanfic spacing issues!). I don't own any part of Star Wars, but if I did, I'd hopefully close the plot holes like how did Vader know how to get to Cloud City, how was Luke awake for over 24 hours in ROTJ, etc. Anyway, this story involves the daughter of a Jedi encountering Darth Vader because, you know, "they" say to write the story you want to read. I came up with the idea for this several years ago, and was influenced by two fanfics: Memories of the Empire by Shezan and Tales of Miklinar by Miklinar (and borrowed one plot point from Miklinar). Nothing graphic here. Enjoy!)

* * *

"_How long were you with Vader?"_

_Lyra looked up. "About three years. Yes, my story starts about a year after the destruction of the first Death Star." Lyra cupped her hands around the steaming cup of caf. "Mmmm. A good cup of caf was one thing that helped me stay sane during those years."_

"_I want to stress again that you are under no investigation. Alliance Intelligence has found no criminal activity on your part. The new Republic government does not consider you a criminal or a collaborator in any way. We would love, though, to hear your story."_

_Lyra sighed and sat back in her seat. "Well, my story actually began before I was born. In fact, what happened before I was born was a direct cause in how I ended up where I did. My mother is a priestess and head of the Order of Kir Zaleh, or rather the Order of the Path in the Esfir system. I don't know if you've heard of them, but they're based on the philosophy of former Jedi Shelantu Das, who was a "grey Jedi," or rather, people whose beliefs are similar to those who believe in the Potentium. I see your eyes glazing over. I agree. The Path believes in walking a path perfectly in between the light and dark sides of the Force. After the Jedi Purge, they heard from contacts on Coruscant and other places that the Empire was hunting Force-sensitives, so they hid for a time, and when no one came for them, they re-emerged and just called themselves Force philosophers. _

"_Before all that, though, my mother had a relationship with a Jedi knight, and I was the result. To her chagrin, though, I was Force-blind; I was a bit of a black hole in the Force. I couldn't sense it or be controlled by it. Very inconvenient for whatever plans the Order had._

"_So, I was taught some of the Kir Zelah ways, but, now I do give my mother credit for this, I was allowed to choose my own "path," shall we say, and attend a regular school and then a university. I was not stuck on Esfir blathering about the Cosmic Force, the Unifying Force, blah, blah, blah. I worked as a leadership consultant for various companies until my position was eliminated. I went to Coruscant on the advice of a friend who had a job lead. Also, since I was from a noble house, a minor branch of a minor house, my friend was also able to finagle me an invitation to a reception the Emperor was having at the palace. Now, who's going to turn down an invitation to a glamorous party at the palace, right? It would also give me an opportunity to ask around about my father, to see if anyone remembered him from back in the day. Boy was I naive."_

This was the first time Lyra had been anywhere like this, so she played it safe with a navy, strapless, mid-calf, velvet chemise. Over the whole dress was a sheer black tulle with tiny shimmering beads that gave a plum or purple sheen depending on the light. This paired with a sheer black shawl and black low-heeled sandals resulted in a simple yet elegant look. Safe. A reception at the palace was not the place to try something showy, at least not in Lyra's book.

Lyra took a taxi speeder to the palace entrance where her old friend Aari was waiting.

"Hey!" Aari said giving her a hug. "You look wonderful! Be careful, the Emperor might decide you're his new girlfriend."

"Yeah right," Lyra laughed. "I'm so glad you were able to get away from the hospital tonight. This will be much more fun having someone I can make snide comments with."

"Comment away! I should be okay tonight unless something drastic happens with one of my patients. Here we go, this way." Aari motioned Lyra forward, and they joined the line to be checked through security. After passing through security, Lyra and Aari made their way down the palace's Grand Corridor towards a large reception area. As they strolled along, they marveled at the size of the palace and the art work displayed.

"Look at these," Aari gestered. "These are Ch'hala trees. The sound vibrations cause them to change color."

"How beautiful," Lyra exclaimed. The trees lining the Grand Corridor shimmered in response to the conversation and laughter of the guests.

"You know," Aari said, "rumor has it that these trees are also a way to eavesdrop on people, to make sure they're not plotting bad things."

"I think you'd have to be stupid to plot right in the Emperor's palace. I do know that part of this complex is made up of the old Jedi temple. I imagine they still have records here. I'd love to look through them. My father was a Jedi master, you know. Beyond a few memories from when I was small, I only know what Mother has told me about him. I'd love to find out more. I wonder if anyone here knows more about the Jedi."

Right then, they arrived at a large reception hall. Scores of officials and other guests milled about the marble-lined room. Floating glow globes glided overhead. At the head of the room, a dias held an ornate gold and red chair. Not the official throne, but opulent enough to be for the Emperor.

"Oh my," Lyra said looking around, "it looks like people have rather different ideas on what 'cocktail attire' means." Right then, a scantily clad Dothan female passed by, swishing her tail suggestively behind her.

"Yep, well, we look fabulous and appropriate," Aari said, turning his head to watch the Dothan's tail.

At that moment, a herald pounded his staff on the floor. "His Imperial Majesty!"

The crowd fell silent and parted for the Emperor. The guests bowed deeply as Palpatine glided past, a tall, buxom human female on his arm. Lyra and Aari watched from the back of the room as Palpatine greeted favorites as he moved past. He settled into the chair on the dais, and waved the woman away. The musicians resumed, and the crowd continued their conversations.

"Oh wow, look, no don't look, but look! Lord Vader." Aari whispered looking over at Vader by the Emperor's side. "I had a patient once who was pretty well-connected, and she told me that Vader is not only the Emperor's enforcer, but is actually his heir. The smart people in the court stay well out of his way, and no one knows what's under that suit."

"Hmmm," Lyra stood on her toes to get a better view of the Emperor and Lord Vader. "He doesn't look too friendly, does he. How about we avoid that area and find the food."

"Good idea," Aari said, ushering her towards the hor d'oeuvres tables where they looked over an amazing assortment of mouth-watering items.

"You know," Lyra murmured, looking around to make sure no one else heard, "I never really realized until now how the Empire looks down on non-humans. I mean, of all the different life forms in the galaxy, most everyone here is human."

"Some, like the Faleens over there, are tolerated because of the power and wealth they have," Aari reached over and picked up a sugar-coated Xylan fruit pastry. "Things the Emperor can use," he said very softly.

"So I assume Vader over there is human," Lyra said, looking everywhere but at Lord Vader.

"I'd say so," Aari agreed. "Is it me, or is he like one of those paintings where the eyes follow you? I swear he seems to always be looking our way."

Lyra choked on her pastry and laughed. "I know! I doubt it though. We're not the rich and powerful here."

"Thanks goodness," Aari agreed.

Lyra and Aari soon joined a group that Aari knew from his work at the Imperial Medical Center. One man, a retired military chief of staff, had them all in tears from laughter with his tales of pulling his medical personnel out of various compromising situations around the galaxy.

"The Verpine soon found out that a nerve probe is not something you want up there!" Dr. Halryndor proclaimed.

Lyra gasped with laughter and searched her purse for a tissue to wipe away the tears from laughing. As everyone settled down, still snickering, Dr. Halryndor turned to her. "I don't believe we've heard where you're from."

"Aari and I grew up together on Esfir. We're both children of the desperately dull priestesses of Kir Zelah."

"Yep," Aari added. "We're the smart ones who broke away and became normal people."

"You got that right," Lyra nodded. "We both went to a normal university and got normal jobs. That's actually why I'm here on Coruscant, to interview for a job. Aari was nice enough to bring me along tonight. Plus, while I'm here, I might be able to find out information about my biological father since part of this palace is the old Jedi temple."

"Ah…" Dr. Halryndor's eyes grew wide. "The Jedi temple?"

"Yes, my biological father was a Jedi, and I had hoped to maybe find out something about him here, but maybe that's a bit far-fetched." As she said this, Lyra noted the nervous glances between others in their group.

Dr. Halryndor drew close. "A bit of advice, that's one topic you might want to avoid. The Jedi are not popular here." Raising his fingers to his lips, Dr. Halryndor made a turning the lock motion.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize." Lyra face grew red. "No more."

"Good girl. Now, I see my wife motioning for me. Time to go; we elderly turn in early. Nice to meet you, and good luck with the job search." Dr. Halryndor bade the rest of the group a good night and left.

The rest of the group soon dispersed, and Aari and Lyra made their way to another group nearby. Lyra soon forgot her faux pas and enjoyed the evening.

About an hour later, Aari was called back to the hospital. Not wanting to leave just yet, Lyra selected another glass of Corellian champagne from a passing tray and moved away from the party and down a corridor displaying artwork from the top artists of the universe. Wonderful pieces, what an opportunity to see such works up close, and without the crowds of a museum. Lyra paused before a scene of the beaches of Xantos VII, marveling at the changing colors of the tide.

"Excuse me, ma'am, this way please." Lyra turned and found a palace official standing before her. "Please, this way," he repeated, jestering with his right arm.

Lyra didn't budge. "I'm sorry, what is this about?"

"A very important person would like to speak with you. In the ballroom."

"I don't know any important people here," Lyra said, shaking her head.

"Please, this way," Mr. High and Mighty Official said firmly. "Follow me."

Lyra followed the official into the ballroom ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble. Over the last hour, most professionals had departed, and the remaining guests were more of a salacious nature. Hardened, with an undertone of sex and violence, laughing too long and too loudly. The official led her to a group near the head of the room. Milling about were several well-dressed men arm in arm with about five "ladies," each in a very flashy and very revealing dress. The smell of alcohol and lust lingered over the group. As Lyra approached, the group parted, and Lyra gasped.

"Oh yes, here she is. Well my dear, you have created a bit of a stir this evening." Emperor Palpatine shifted away from the scantily clad Dithan and moved to the center of the group and stood right in front of Lyra. Lyra was so taken by surprise that she barely registered Lord Vader, who had just re-entered the party through a side door.

"Your Majesty," Lyra stammered and bowed, remembering to subtly place her clutch to her chest to avoid flashing the Emperor. Although he'd probably love it.

"Not many people have the temerity to come to the Imperial Palace and ask about the Jedi." The group politely laughed at the Emperor's comment.

Lyra's face burned. She swallowed reflexively. "My apologies, Your Majesty. I… I was just hoping to find information on my biological father, that was all. He was a Jedi…" she said, trailing off.

"Surely you know the Jedi were exterminated after their treasonous rebellion." the Emperor said, not smiling this time. "Your father is most certainly dead." The Emperor turned to move back to his informal throne.

Lyra forced herself to stand up straight. "Your Majesty, my father actually died when I was a small child, long before the Jedi rebellion. I met him a few times when I was very small and wanted to know more about him as a man, not so much as a Jedi master." _Is it possible to have a hard time hearing over your own heart beating?_

Palpatine paused in mid-turn and looked back at Lyra. "A Jedi master? Who was your father?" he rasped.

"His name, Your Majesty, was Qui-Gon Jinn." Lord Vader's head turned sharply in her direction.

"He was a master but not on the council," Lyra noted, briefly glancing over at Vader and then back to the Emperor.

Palpatine turned back to Lyra. "Jedi were not supposed to have relationships. Are you certain this man was your father?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, Jinn and my mother, a priestess of Kir Zelah, had a casual relationship for several years. When I was four, he visited, and she introduced me to him as his daughter."

"Strange, Jinn was strong in the Force. I sense nothing from you."

Lyra smiled and shook her head. "No. When I was small, the priestesses discovered that I'm what they call a "black hole" in the Force. I cannot sense the Force at all," Lyra responded, careful to leave off any mention of how other Force sensitives, careful to keep a low profile in these times, could not sense or manipulate her with the Force.

Palpatine suddenly lost interest. "Stop your questions. You are treading on dangerous ground." With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Lyra and turned to the Dithan.

"Maybe you'd like to party with us," one of the women in the group called out to Lyra. Lyra looked over at a woman who had her arm draped around a smirking court official. The woman smiled suggestively at Lyra and slowly and exaggeratedly ran her tongue around the edge of her lips.

_Okay, um, no._

"Sorry," Lyra smiled politely at the woman, "I've got to be going." Lyra nodded at the group and bowed slightly in the Emperor's direction and turned away. The group burst into laughter as Lyra moved off.

Lyra made her way across the reception area towards the opposite exit. Lyra glanced back towards the dias as she walked. The Emperor was in a conversation with the barely dressed Dithan. Vader was still there, standing off to one side near the dias and looking in Lyra's direction.

"Hello," a voice murmured right in her ear. "You look lovely tonight. Weren't you just talking with Lord Vader? Why waste your time with him? I can give you exactly what he can't." The voice laughed softly as an arm slid around Lyra's waist and a tongue ran around the rim of her ear.

Lyra spun away from the arm. "Stop that!" she said sternly. A hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"Take your hands off me!" Outraged, Lyra spun around to face a tall Falleen looking at her like she was a prime steak to devour. He practically licked his lips. Prince Xixor.

"Now, now, none of that. Aren't you a nice one." Xixor pulled her close and ground his pelvis into her.

Infuriated, Lyra exclaimed, "Let me go, now!" Apparently the good ole Falleen pheromones don't work on Force black holes.

Xixor laughed. "What will you do, huh? You're lucky. Most women would love to spend time with me. Now why wouldn't you want to be my friend?" Xixor's hand closed around Lyra's breast.

That's it. Lyra tensed and as she raised her knee, Xixor, wise to that move, twisted out of range. Laughing, he grabbed the back of her head. Lyra wasn't quite sure what he was saying, because all she could see was a wrist right near her mouth when she twisted her head just so. Lyra bit. Hard.

"You bitch!" Xixor roared. The crowd near then stopped to watch. Several laughed. Xixor let go, and before Lyra could get away, he backhanded her right in the face. Blinded by horrific pain, Lyra fell backwards and landed hard, hitting her head on the marble floor, her clutch flying in one direction and a shoe in the other. Holding a hand to her nose, Lyra sat up quickly and scrambled to her feet. Guards were rushing to restrain Xixor. Lyra spotted her purse lying nearby. She limped over and grabbed it, then found her shoe. Luckily, her skirt had not come up. No one, of course, came forward to help her. Still with a hand under her nose, which by now was pouring blood, Lyra darted out the entrance and down to the nearby ladies' room. Feeling faint, Lyra grabbed a hand towel and held it to her nose while she sank into a chair. A couple of women passed her by, looking at her curiously.

Lyra tilted her head back and held the towel to her throbbing nose. Best to get ice on it soon and get to a medical droid for the knot on her head and the pain in her left elbow. Probably fractured given that it hurt like hell to move. Lyra thought through the route to the exit. She would have to get back to the Grand Corridor and then proceed down it quite a ways. There was no easier way out. If she could get the blood to stop, then maybe she wouldn't attract much attention. Also, where was Xixor and his people? Would they be after her? Best to get out of here as soon as she could.

Lyra rose to her feet. Stuffing the towel into her purse, she grabbed another one. Terribly sorry to steal from the Palace, but they'd have to understand. She peered out the door and darted out towards the Grand Corridor.

"There, there she is. You. Halt!" A guard stepped out in front of Lyra. "Come with us."

"Prince Xixor attacked me. I'd like to fill out a complaint."

"Move." The guard was joined by another, who grabbed Lyra by the shoulder and spun her around. Lyra gasped as pain radiated up her arm from her elbow. She followed the first guard down the corridor to a lift and up several floors. The door opened to a long corridor lined with maroon carpeting and gold fixtures. The first guard stepped out. The second guard gave Lyra a small push, and she exited too. They move down a corridor and approached a set of doors guarded by two red-clad Imperial guards.

"We have the woman the Emperor requested." The first guard said. Another guard stepped out from a side door and motioned them in. Inside the room, one guard searched Lyra's purse, not saying anything about the bloody towel in it. Another guard ran a security wand over her despite her having cleared security when she entered the palace. Satisfied that she had no weapon, the guards let her keep the towel pressed to her nose and escorted her back out to the hall. One guard nodded to the Imperial guards, and the doors opened. The first guard entered, and the second guard nudged Lyra to follow. They entered a spacious and elegantly furnished room overlooking the cityscape. Both guards bowed. Xixor turned and looked at Lyra triumphantly. Emperor Palpatine and Lord Vader also regarded her. The raspy sound of Lord Vader's breathing stood out without the noise of the crowd to muffle it.

_The carpet's dark green. How odd._ _Oh, look how the lights of the city reflect off Lord Vader's helmet. Does he get lint on that cape? _Lyra felt faint and swayed as nausea rose. She supported her left arm with her right hand and stared at the carpet, concentrating on staying upright.

"Thank you, your majesty. I will take great pleasure with this one. I'm not used to being denied by a woman." Xixor moved around Lyra and looked her up and down. "It will be amusing to teach her her place."

"Master," Lyra flinched at the sound of Vader's voice. "I too desire this woman. A reward for putting down the Kessel revolt.

"Your majesty!" Xixor exclaimed.

"Now, now, Prince Xixor. Lord Vader has a point. He has well earned his reward, and it will be amusing to see what he does with this woman. All right Lord Vader. This woman is yours to use and dispose of as you see fit."

"Thank you, my master." Vader said, bowing to the Emperor. He turned to the first guard by Lyra. "Take her to my shuttle."

"Your majesty, please!" Xixor protested.

"That is enough, Xixor, you may go." Palpatine turned to Vader. "Now, a situation has come up with the delegation from Onderon. Pay them a visit..."

* * *

Vader strode through the vast palace corridors, a swirl of emotion. Any thought of his first master and savior brought the same pattern of thoughts and feelings: gratitude, dismay, guilt, anger, and worst of all, regret. In the very back of his mind lurked the thoughts Vader didn't want to acknowledge: Qui-Gon Jinn had saved him and without him, Vader would never have become a Jedi. By choosing the dark, Vader had betrayed everything Jinn had stood for. If Vader ever saw the chance to make it up to Jinn**,** if that were possible, he would leap at it. That chance had just been rescued from Xixor and would still need to be protected from him.

Several minutes out from the palace landing bay, Vader radioed his shuttle. "Prepare the shuttle for my arrival. Take the woman to the chief steward at my residence. Tell him to put her in a guest room and give her what she needs."

"Yes my lord. Is she free to move about?"

Vader paused. "No, not for the moment."


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Rogue One introduces us to the character of Vader's servant who approaches Vader while he's out of his suit and in his bacta tank, therefore apparently having Vader's trust. Various sites note that the servant's name is Vanee (with the accent over the second "e" that I can't figure out how to type!).

* * *

Lyra was moved to a speeder, not quite as roughly as before, and her purse returned to her. The speeder flew from the Palace to the other end of Imperial Plaza and into the landing bay of a tall, dark, unadorned building. For several minutes, Lyra and a guard stood in the bay, waiting. Lyra, still nauseous, cradled her elbow and hoped she didn't faint. Finally, an older human male approached.

"Thank you, I'll take over from here," the man nodded to the guard. "Come this way," he motioned to Lyra.

Lyra didn't move. "I'm sorry," she said, heart pounding. "I can't. I need to leave."

The servant turned and moved towards her. "Lord Vader has commanded that you stay here. I have a guest room set up for you while we work out the details of what to do with you. His lordship did say that while you can't move about freely, you're not a prisoner."

The man motioned Lyra into a turbolift, and they rose several floors. Once off the lift, he keyed in a command, and a door slid open. Inside was a plain, medium size room, empty except for a bed. At least there was a window and a small bathroom off to one side. All in black with grey sheets on the bed.

"Here we are, these are your quarters for the time being. A droid will bring you food, and a medical droid will see to you shortly. Is there anything else you require?"

"Uh, my things are at my hotel and, I need to check out, or they'll charge me. Look, I need to talk to Lord Vader and get this straightened out."

"Lord Vader will contact you when he sees fit. As for your hotel, give me the details and I'll have your bags brought over. I'll also have your bill paid. My name is Vanee, and if you need anything else, press this button and ask for me."

After getting the name of Lyra's hotel and her room's lock code, Vanee turned and left. Lyra looked about the room then realized that she still had her purse, and her com unit was inside. Frantically calling up her mother's number, she was surprised that the call wasn't blocked and actually went through. An automated voice message answered. Typical.

"Mother!" she exclaimed in a rush. "I know this sounds crazy, but I've been taken by Lord Vader and am in his palace. I can't leave. Please help!" With that, she hung up before the call could be intercepted.

_Great, now she'll think I'm insane._

The priestesses of Kir Zelah had lost a bit of their influence as the Republic was replaced with the Empire, but they did have contacts here and there who might be helpful.

* * *

Late morning the next day. Lyra had slept fitfully and awoke when a service droid arrived with a breakfast of penok eggs and oatmeal. All in all, not bad, but still. Her luggage had not arrived yet, so to keep warm, Lyra took the top sheet off the bed, folded it several times and used it as a shawl. She looked at her com unit. _Still worked. _Alternating terror and boredom, Lyra looked out the window for a while and pondered all the possibilities. The worst case scenarios seemed to make the most sense.

The door opened suddenly. Lyra stood up straight, and looked directly at the Dark Lord, glaring with her head held high. _I might go down, but I won't go down without a fight._

Vader clasped his hands behind his back and moved to look out the window.

"The genetic tests are positive. You are the biological daughter of Qui-Gon Jinn."

_Okay..._

Lyra said nothing.

Still looking out towards the city, Vader paused, then continued, "Jinn found me as a child and vouched for me before the Jedi Council. It is only because of him that I was trained as a Jedi."

_A Jedi? _

"I owe him a great deal."

Silence.

"Prince Xixor wanted you for himself as a slave. The Emperor agreed to give you to him. I convinced the Emperor to give you to me instead. Xixor was not pleased."

Vader turned to Lyra, looked at her for a moment, then walked suddenly out the door.

Lyra sat on the bed, stunned. Something her mother told her came to the front of her mind, and the dots started to connect. Then, there was Jinn...

"_Hold still now." Ha'Lei, the acolyte in charge of Lyra that day, swept Lyra's baby-fine hair into a ponytail high on the back of Lyra's head._

"_Adorable!" _

"_It's not phiscated!"_

"_Honey, do you even know what that means? Come on now, get your sandals on. You've got a visitor."_

_Still frowning over her hair, Lyra followed Ha'Lei into her mother's small sitting room. A very tall man with long hair turned to look at her._

"_Well hello." He smiled down at her. "What is your name?"_

"_Lyra," she replied, looking over to her mother for assurance._

"_Hello Lyra. How old are you?" The nice man smiled at her._

_Lyra held up four fingers. "Four." _

_The tall man smiled, then frowned slightly as he thought. He turned and looked at her mother, a question in his eyes._

"_Yes, she's yours. And a lot of good that did us. She's not Force-sensitive. She's actually a black hole."_

_Lyra wasn't sure what that meant, but it wasn't good. Devastated and embarrassed, Lyra turned bright red and burst into tears. _

"_There, there." The tall man picked her up. "It's all right. There's nothing wrong with you. You might not be Force-sensitive, but that's not a problem, and don't let anyone tell you it is." The tall man looked over at her mother and frowned. He looked back at Lyra and smiled. With his right thumb, he wiped away her tears._

"_You have other talents that are just as important. You're a very special person, Lyra. Don't forget that. You're going to do great things, _if _you're honest and kind to others. Remember that." With that, he kissed her forehead._

_Lyra might have been just four, but she was old enough to realize that her mother was flustered._

"_Well, of course she's special. I...I didn't mean to suggest otherwise." _

"_Uh huh," Lyra thought, smiling at the tall man._

* * *

For a few days Lyra had nothing to do but watch the broadcasts and read and eat what the domestic droids brought. At least her luggage had appeared. Then, midday on the sixth day, Vanee appeared, but this time, he rang the door chime.

"Good morning, my lady," he said, entering. _My lady?_ "I have a document for you to sign."

Vanee held out the data pad to Lyra. "This is a certificate of marriage between you and Lord Vader."

"_Marriage?_ Why?" Lyra stammered.

Vanee sighed and lowered his hand. "The Emperor gave you to Lord Vader to do with as he pleased. You are his property in all ways. My lord could have thrown you in an Imperial prison or given you to his soldiers. Instead, he has chosen to raise you to his equal in social status and give you his protection." _So be grateful, was the unspoken command._

"And rest assured, Lord Vader has had you thoroughly investigated."

_Nothing to find. The benefits of a boring life._

Vanee held the data pad out again. Well, there was no choice here. Lyra signed, still stunned.

"Very good, Lady Vader."

_Lady Vader? Oh my._

"Now, I'll give you a tour of the complex and show you the areas you may enter. You, may actually go most everywhere except Lord Vader's private suite. That is by invitation only."

_Sure, I'm just itching to go there_.

Vanee showed Lyra the main reception area, the shuttle bay, and the outside promenade a couple of floors down from the top.

"These, my lady, are your new quarters." Vanee keyed in a code and the door slid open. Inside was a large sitting room sparsely furnished with a dark greel wood and leather sofa and table. A smaller bedroom and bath completed the suite. Like the other areas, this was all black and chrome, but with large curved windows that gave a breathtaking view of the city.

Lyra looked around. "This is a com unit?" Lyra indicated a panel far more sophisticated than anything she had seen. "Am I allowed to use it?"

"Of course, my lady, you're allowed to do anything, within reason. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that you represent Lord Vader now. Your conduct reflects on him."

"Of course."

"Also, my lady, do not approach Lord Vader. He will contact you if he needs you."

Fear crept back in. "Vanee, what would he need me for?" she said turning and facing him.

"My lady, I don't know. You're the only woman he's ever had here."

At that moment, a droid entered with a small hover lift carrying her luggage.

"I'll program it to ring the door chime from now on my lady. If you have no further questions, then I will leave you to settle in." Vanee bowed and exited.

Lyra moved to the window and rested one hand on the glass. Outside, the towers of Coruscant gleamed in the bright sun. A steady stream of speeders moved past, their hum faint due to the window's thick glass, but still dim and constant. Interesting that no speeder or shuttle came close to this particular building's tower. Must be a security zone given the building's inhabitant.

Lyra stood there for quite a while looking out over the city and remembering the day as a young teen her mother and grandmother had called her into her mother's office in the ancient stone and stucco structure of the Kir Zelah headquarters. Here, Amera and Jael informed her of her future. Lyra listened politely and nodded, yet scoffed internally as pre-teens are inclined to do. Now, it all came back to her.

* * *

The next morning, the door chimed. Vanee entered at Lyra's command.

"Good morning, my lady. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you, but I'm having trouble with the thermostat. How do I make it warmer?" Lyra said, indicating the command panel. Vanee showed her the command to enter.

"My lady, I was wondering if you had any more questions. I know this is a sudden change for you."

"Yes, does breakfast always arrive so early? Can the time be changed?"

"Contact the servant droid unit and tell it what time you'd like from now on. The kitchen will adjust. You can also specify what you'd like. At the moment, the droids are programmed to bring you breakfast at 7:00 am sharp and return an hour later to take your tray away. Lunch will arrive at noon with dinner at 6:00 pm. To make changes, you can contact the servant droid unit with this command here," he indicated on the com system.

"Uh, what about errands. Am I allowed to leave? There are a few things I'd like to pick up."

"You can always send out for whatever you need, but yes, you can leave. A droid will arrange a speeder to take you where you need to go. For your safety, you will have an escort of one or two guards.

"My safety?"

"Lord Vader is, as you know, very powerful, and well, some might want to strike at him through you."

"That's a real threat?"

"Well, my lady, Prince Xixor was not pleased to lose you. Guards for the time being are advisable." _He knows about Xixor? Interesting._

"My lady, keep this small com unit with you. With this, you can reach anyone here at the residence. Be mindful of number 001. That is his lordship. For security reasons, his name will not appear on the screen.

"Also, Lord Vader has instructed me to set up an account for you with the Imperial Bank. Funds will be deposited monthly for your use. If I may recommend, my lady, use these funds for one or two formal court day dresses and a few evening dresses. From time to time, you'll appear at court with Lord Vader and will need the appropriate attire."

"Okay, thank you." Lyra accepted the bank chip Vanee held out. "Oh, what kind of protocol droids do you have here? I've never seen this type before," she said, indicating the droid behind Vanee.

"Yes my lady, that is a V droid. "V droid" is short for the V-3PO series that his lordship utilizes. They're a version of the elite E-3PO series and are made just for Lord Vader. The Emperor has a similar line. The Cybot Galactica company distinguishes Lord Vader's from the Emperor's with the initials P for Emperor Palpatine and V for Vader. The droid assigned to you has been named L-3PO."

_So, safe to say, good 'ole L-PO is a spy._

"Now, if that will be all…" Vanee bowed, then turned and left.

Lyra studied the room's com unit. Probably hooked into some surveillance system. Lyra fished her personal unit out of her purse.

"Uh, Mother, I don't know if you got my other message since you're away on retreat and all, but I wanted to let you know that I'm all right, for the moment at least. I have a lot to tell you, and I'm sure this channel is being monitored, but anyway, I mentioned that I had been taken by Lord Vader. I know it sounds insane, and it's no joke. I'm not exactly a prisoner, but apparently, I'm now his wife - legally. I don't know if you can contact me back, so I'll try you again tomorrow and again until I reach you."

Later that day, while Lyra set the clothes from her suitcase into the built-in dresser in her bedroom, her personal com unit chirped.

On screen was a middle aged women whose striking beauty was in sharp contrast to her thick, unruly hair which contained a small bone entwined around a chestnut strand. The older woman to her side had been a beauty in her youth, but her complete lack of hair and severe black robe detracted from any looks she still had. This was Jael, former head of the order, current first adviser to Amera, her daughter and current head, and All Around Strange Person. Maybe that last part was made up.

"_Wait, I'm sorry, did you say a bone in her hair?"_

"_I sure did. A head priestess of the Kir Zelah wears a finger bone of the founder, former Jedi Shelantu Das, in her hair. It's to remind them of their proud heritage or something like that. Having had to grow up with that, I can verify that it just makes them look like weirdos."_

"_I'm sure. Please continue."_

"Lyra, I didn't know if our message would go through. How are you? Aari heard through his palace contacts that you had been detained and contacted us," Amera said calmly.

"Well, all right for now. Nothing's happened to me. Frankly, I'm scared to go out of this room."

"I'm sure it is stressful, but Jael and I have discussed this matter with the council. We are all in agreement. My dear, the Force has placed you in this situation for a reason. I don't know what it is, but you have a part to play."

"You've already discussed this with the whole council? Before you contacted me?"

_Typical._

"Yes, Jael and I believed that this needed to be rushed before the council immediately. We believe that things are falling into place. Events make sense given the prophecy I received about you.

Lyra sighed and considered this.

"Lyra," Jael stated, "you know this it true. We and the council are in agreement: The Force has put you in this position for a reason. Amera had to bear a child with Jinn, you, and you have to be exactly where you are. I hope that this gives you a peace of mind to know that you are where you're supposed to be. Lord Vader is the dark knight that is your foretold master. Your role goes beyond obedience. Your attitude should be one of perfect submission and calm surrender, an attitude of service, which is not the same as approval, by the way. Your feminine softness is crucial here; it is the complement, the counter-weight to his strength. Do not meddle, but see how everything unfolds."

Lyra groaned. This was not the usual marriage of equals she'd always imagined she'd have.

"Maybe you would understand your duty better if you had been raised a priestess," Jael noted, giving Amera a pointed look, "or...perhaps not," she said, backing away from an old argument. "You're in this position for a reason. Let events unfold. There is also great sexual satisfaction to be had from submissiveness."

Lyra groaned and sat back in her chair. She gazed up at the ceiling for a moment and pondered. "When all this happened, I thought back to what you had told me growing up even though I discounted it back then. It does seem like things are falling into place, plus, it's not like I have much of a choice here."

"Yes, this is the part you've been given to play. Play it well." Amera replied. Jael nodded.

"We will be in touch, and we are always here for advice," Jael noted. _Great….._

_Is there anything more annoying than Amera and Jael being right?_

* * *

"_So, day 1, I stayed in my quarters too scared to leave. Day 2 and 3 were the same. I watched the holovid and read. Day 4, I was desperate and going stir crazy and actually ventured out into the hall. Day 5, I got up my nerve to try the promenade. The sunset that day was spectacular. It felt good to be outside after being in so long, even if Coruscant doesn't really have "fresh air." The promenade soon became one of my favorite places where I would walk and look out over the city. Later on, at my request, Vanee had a chair and small table set out so I could have morning caf out there. _

"_I grabbed a wonderful shawl I had of yakti wool and went out onto the promenade. As I strolled along, I turned a corner and there stood Vader, looking out over the city, hands on his belt, cape billowing behind him in the breeze." _

Lyra gasped and stopped mid-stride. Too late. Vader looked over towards her.

"Oh, excuse me, my lord, sorry," Lyra stammered and started to turn away.

"Your mother deliberately sought out Qui-Gon Jinn to reproduce with him."

_So someone does listen in._

"Yes, my lord," Lyra said turning back towards him. "She felt that the Force was leading her to do that, but she didn't know why."

"You were the child."

"Yes."

"And she had a prophecy about you."

"Yes, my lord."

"What exactly?"

Lyra moved a couple of steps towards Vader and held her shawl closer. "When I was about five, my mother suddenly had a very strong conviction, she called it a prophecy, that one day I would be under the hand, as she called it, of a dark knight, and he would be my master, and that was to be my place. Mother's prophecy raised my esteem in the eyes of the order. They had been dismayed when they realized that I was Force-blind, but with this prophecy, they thought I'd finally be of some use to them. Well, that's my interpretation. They said that they desired to obey the will of the Force, whatever the Force had in store for me."

"Your interpretation?"

"The order of Kir Zaleh has been known to use people and situations to its advantage, and that probably included me," she noted ruefully.

"The Order believes that I am the foretold master."

"Yes, my lord," _Great, he heard that part._ Lyra looked out over the city hoping he didn't notice her turning red.

"But you're not a priestess of the order."

"Oh no, my lord. I never wanted to be in the order, so I was allowed to go to a regular school and then college."

"And the head of the order is your mother."

"Yes, my lord, and my grandmother preceded her."

"You don't seem to respect the order. You don't share in their beliefs?"

"Well," Lyra sighed, "I grew up hearing about the Unifying Force, the Living Force, the Cosmic Force, and so on, and after a point, I just think it's vague nonsense." Lyra shrugged. "I think I'm a bit more practical minded than the order liked, plus I tended to question. I had, have, an irritating habit of thinking for myself." Lyra held her shawl closed with one hand and held her hair back with the other so it didn't blow in her face. "'Kir Zelah' means 'the Path,' so they consider themselves to walk the path between the light and dark side of the Force. They emphasize the balance between the two as opposed to stressing one side or the other as other groups do." Lyra trailed off, looking out over the city, she shook her head, "I don't know; I really don't spend time thinking about the Force."

"They're not Force-sensitives?"

"Oh no, my lord, just philosophers. They talk about the Force ad nauseum, but no, they cannot use the Force."

"Yet they hoped you'd be a Force-sensitive."

"Yes, my lord. The Order hoped to create Force-sensitives and help them cultivate their various Force abilities in order to do good. That was, of course, before the Empire, and as good subjects of the Emperor, they dropped their plans," she added hastily.

Right at that moment, Vader's com unit chimed. "My lord, Governor Zar is on the line with the information you requested."

"Very well, one moment." Vader paused and seemed to consider Lyra (one can never be sure with that mask) then turned and walked away.

_I've had a conversation with the Dark Lord and have lived to tell about it!_


	3. Chapter 3

"_From the very beginning, I had my suspicions about the constant surveillance in the palace. Whenever I needed to shower or dress or whatever, I'd go into the bathroom and turn off the lights. Yep, showering in total darkness, fun! Then, one day I had enough." _

That evening, Lyra sat on the sofa watching a news broadcast on an uprising on Antollon when the door slid open suddenly. Lyra stood and turned off the news as Vader entered.

"My lord," Lyra said nothing, heart pounding.

Vader looked around the room, then at the small pile of listening devices and mini cameras that Lyra had dug out of the walls and ceiling with her nail file and placed on the table in front of the sofa.

"I received a report that you had dismantled the surveillance devices in your quarters."

"Just the ones in my bedroom and bathroom, my lord. It seemed to be a reasonable thing to do, to shower and dress in privacy," Lyra hesitated, then added, "and not have the wife of Lord Vader seen and commented on by others as she undresses."

Vader rested his hands on his belt and looked at her, seeming to consider her point.

"Very well, I'll instruct Vanee not to have the devices replaced."

"Thank you, my lord." _Score one for me! _

Vader continued to regard her.

"You said that the order used people for its own advantage."

"Yes my lord, or well, they did back during the Republic. Mostly for financial reasons and for their own ego to think that they still had the ability to influence those in power like they did long ago. They will not though, my lord, pressure me to influence you," Lyra added hastily.

_Like I could._

Vader considered her for a moment and then turned and left.

The next day, L-PO appeared holding a small device. "My lady," the droid said, bowing awkwardly, "his lordship sent this to you. This will detect any listening devices that are planted."

Lyra took the unit from the droid and turned it on. Sure enough, it led her right to a small device on the overhead light fixture. Lyra moved into the bedroom and bathroom. Nothing. Nothing in the closet either.

Lyra moved back to the sitting room. "Now, please bring me a step ladder."

* * *

"_My day-to-day life wasn't that exciting. Gradually, the fear gave way to boredom, so I would go out at least once a week to the high-end shopping area near the palace or to one of many parks or museums or to the library. I rarely interacted with anyone, and my friend Aari had taken a prestigious job back on Esfir, so I just walked by myself a lot. There was one change, though, for the better. At first, I had to have a couple of guards with me when I went out. I actually attracted more attention that way, so I approached Vanee again and asked if anyone would dare to incur the wrath of Darth Vader - assuming that harming me would incur his wrath. Even Xixor. If something happened to me, Xixor would be the first person Vader would interrogate. So, Vanee relented, and I was allowed out on my own. I'm sure Vanee had me followed, at least for a time, but they didn't interfere with my day and assured Vanee that I was not up to anything. I was safe, for the most part, but that story comes later._

"_I had been living in Vader's palace for a few months when Vanee appeared one day and announced that I would accompany Vader to the Emperor's birthday celebration during the next month. Fortunately, I had taken Vanee's advice and had a dress already made_. _Vanee had also remarked about Vader's shuttle always being ready or the consequences would be dire. I made sure I spoke to the leader of the maintenance crew to let him know that before any event, I'd arrive at the shuttle quite a bit early, but not to panic if it wasn't ready. He was very relieved."_

"Lady Vader," the protocol official said bowing. "You look very beautiful this evening."

Lyra had to agree. It wasn't easy, but she thought that she did pull the dress off well. Navy velvet, sleeveless, with a wide yet modest v neck, fitted waist and slightly fuller skirt. Lyra was confident that it was exactly the look she was going for: elegant yet not showy, dark to go along with Vader.

Lyra and Vader waited in an antechamber before they entered the ballroom to wait for the Emperor's arrival.

"My lady, your part is rather easy. Kneel when Lord Vader kneels, rise when he rises, and walk when he walks, a few feet behind. Even if the Emperor commands only his lordship to rise, you may also. If the Emperor wants to speak with Lord Vader privately, he'll turn to you and ask if he may borrow Lord Vader for a few minutes or he might note that you would enjoy seeing the new pieces in the art gallery, something along those lines."

Lyra nodded. "Of course. Now, how many feet behind Lord Vader should I walk?" Lyra asked.

"About four, this far," he said, moving to stand about four feet in front of Lyra. "Of course, that's only during the formal ceremony. Oh, and as you know, you speak to the Emperor only after he speaks to you first."

_Like I have a desire to speak to the Emperor._

Lyra took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. _Everyone's going to be looking at us, no, me! _

When signaled by the Lord Chamberlain, Vader and Lyra entered the throne room through the side door. All talk decreased noticeably as the crowd, almost as one, turned to openly gape at Lyra. Xixor was there, glaring at Lyra. Lyra looked everywhere else but at him. Before the crowd could resume its conversation, the trumpets blew, and all turned to face the aisle and bowed as the Emperor proceeded down the aisle to his throne.

Hobbling with his cane, Palpatine climbed the steps to the throne, the red guards behind him. When Palpatine reached the top, Vader stepped forward and kneeled. Lyra kneeled where she was, desperately trying not to wobble.

"Rise my friend," Palpatine said. Lyra rose as Vader did, very grateful that she did it smoothly.

_No heels caught in my hem. It pays to wear flats._

Heart beating rapidly, Lyra kept her eyes down, but did glance up to see the Emperor looking at her curiously. He didn't say anything and turned to address the crowd.

After ten minutes of speaking on blah, blah, blah the Empire's wonderful, the rebellion's bad, etc., etc., accompanied by members of the audience openly staring at Lyra, Palpatine was done and descended the steps to mix and mingle. Vader turned and exited from the same door where he and Lyra entered. Lyra followed, and without a word, they returned to Vader's palace.

_At least it was over, and all in all, not too bad. Now what? Do people even know who I am and why I was up there?_

* * *

"_There was one thing that Vader and I were in complete agreement on: we were not socialites and hated the Imperial balls and receptions filled with people scheming, fawning, and jockeying for power. We had a routine: we'd arrive, greet the Emperor, stand near him while other officials greeted us, then leave. In and out in twenty to thirty minutes tops. The party where Xixor accosted me was an anomaly in that Vader had stayed longer. It usually took me longer to get ready for court functions, but I didn't care as long as we were in and out. Oh, and I never liked the honor guard greeting when we arrived. A bit over-the-top for my taste. Rows of stormtroopers, servile officials - utter nonsense._

"_Speaking of balls and receptions, during my first year with Vader, I felt like there was something vital that needed to be known, news that needed to get out, but I had no clue how to go about doing it. The fifth or sixth time we appeared at court gave me my chance."_

At the end of a ceremony honoring a group of scientists, Lyra excused herself and made her way to the ladies room. Afterwards, as she was drying her hands, a brave socialite approached her.

"Why Lady Vader, it's so good to see you again. What a lovely dress; dark plumb really is your color," she gushed.

"Why, thank you," Lyra said. "Yours is also beautiful."

"Yes, well...Many of us were wondering, how did you meet Lord Vader? Did you know him some time before you married?"

Lyra was quite taken aback at the woman's boldness and intrusiveness, then considered the situation. Well, why not? "Prince Xixor wanted the Emperor to give me to him to be his sex slave. The Emperor agreed until Lord Vader persuaded the Emperor to give me to him instead. Lord Vader married me although he wasn't obliged to. He could have kept me as a slave."

A stunned silence filled the room. Lyra smiled, "Your daughters are all quite beautiful. I'm sure with their schooling they'll be much too busy to attend court functions."

"Oh..oh yes," the woman stammered. "Much too busy. My daughter's course work is very demanding. Nods of heads all around.

Lyra smiled. "Of course," and made her goodbyes, confident that the population of sweet young things at court would soon fall drastically. Hopefully word would soon spread to other women too.

* * *

"_Vader's palace was dark and sparse. There was a coldness that went beyond temperature. Over time, I became more used to it, but still always felt a tension in the air. As for Coruscant, it was very crowded and busy. Add loneliness to this, and life was often bleak. To counter this, I made my quarters a haven. Nice things, comfortable, cozy even, and I arranged the lighting so it was comforting, not harsh._

"_I had a love/hate relationship with Coruscant. On one hand, I loved the soaring heights and the wind as it whipped through the towers that covered the planet. On the other hand, the sheer number of buildings - a whole planet full! - and people and constant traffic were overwhelming and could be claustrophobic. I longed for Esfir's green fields and forests._

"_My allowance was very generous, _very_ generous, but I tried to control what I spent so I wouldn't seem extravagant and reckless with my money. That didn't seem to be a good idea when dealing with a Dark Lord. Now, that said, while I didn't buy a whole lot, what I did get was very, very nice. Things like Naboo cashmere throws, a couple of large crystal vases for flowers, silk throw pillows, nice lamps, etc. Once when Vader was away for quite some time, I felt brave enough to buy some furniture since my quarters didn't have a lot in them. I had the original furniture in the sitting room moved to storage and replaced it with a soft leather sofa, chair and ottoman set, a couple of side tables, and a table with a couple of chairs that I put by the window so I could look out over the city while I ate._

"_I did have a round table that I set a few feet in front of the door. On the table, I kept a large crystal vase filled with flowers. The first time Vader walked in and saw the large bouquet of bright pink caprican lilies, he stood there for a moment and stared at them, or seemed to stare. I always wondered if he thought they were something he needed to kill! _

"_Everything was in muted colors, but the closer to the more private areas, the more my personality came out. While the sitting room was in muted neutrals with hints of red, mauve, and teal, my bed was covered with a pale rose silk comforter, and my bathroom towels were bright coral and turquoise. Probably the only bright colors in the whole building!_

"_I didn't like having to call down to the kitchen or to the domestic droid every time I wanted a snack or something to drink, so Vanee had a small refrigeration unit and a hot liquid dispenser set up in my quarters, kind of like a small bar. That I greatly appreciated._

"_For a time, I didn't have much to do other than shop, read, and watch whatever was on the entertainment channels. So, I did the one thing I really didn't want to do: I reached out to my mother."_

"I'm glad you called; the Force has sent you to us. There is something you can help us with. The Council is in an uproar. A scholar on Omicron 3 has just published a paper saying that Shelantu Das was embezzling from the Jedi when she left to form our order."

"This so-called scholar has even gone so far as to say that Riven Crete stole Jedi artifacts when he left the order to join Das," Jael added. Of course she was there; was she ever not? "Absolutely scandalous. Das and Crete left the Jedi over philosophical differences, not because they were criminals!"

"Okay, so what do you want me to do?" Lyra asked.

"Well," Amera said, glancing at Jael, "this needs to be investigated and disproven as soon as possible."

"Or…" Jael added

"Or investigated and hushed up."

"So there could be some truth here."

"Absolutely not!" Pause. "Probably not."

"Ladies, is anyone out there really reading what this scholar writes? Does anyone really care?"

"My goodness?"

"Of course it matters!"

"Our reputation is at stake!"

"Really Lyra."

"Okay, okay, for all three people who care, I'll look into it. Is there anything you can send me, or are all of Das' writings archived in your network?"

"They're networked, but we do have a few volumes we can send you," Amera noted. "Please take this most seriously. We are very anxious that our founder is not unfairly accused. We are serious philosophers of the Force, and we do not want our order to be discredited."

"I will take this seriously, I promise. I'll look through what you send me. Can I dog-ear the pages?"

"No!"

"Use them as a coaster?"

"I should hope not!" Jael huffed.

"Use a highlighter?"

"Good merciful Force, no!"

"Are there any good sex scenes?"

"Thank you Lyra, that will be all." Amera severed the connection.

"It's a reasonable question," Lyra said, turning the screen off.


	4. Chapter 4

"_As time went by, I learned from Vanee that Vader was gone from the palace for long periods of time, the Emperor's business, I assume. When L-PO confirmed that Vader was gone, I would venture out and explore the palace. The kitchen and laundry areas were large, but rather standard. I did find an interesting open area filled with various droids. I couldn't figure out what they were for, so I forgot them for a time. One day while exploring, I went back to that same area, this time in the upper area so I could look down on the floor. Well, L-PO was wrong about Vader being gone."_

Lyra looked around at the upper deck of what she assumed was some sort of gym. Right then, all of the droids down below sprang to life. Lyra jumped in surprise then peered over the edge just in time to see Vader leap in the air and do a complete somersault while fending off three droids. Lyra slowly sat on the edge of one of the five seats in the balcony and silently watched. Vader pared and struck over and over, destroying droid after droid. Did Vader know she was there? Would he mind? Lyra was scared to move in case that distracted him, so she stayed put. All in all, it was very impressive, at least to Lyra who knew nothing about fighting with lightsabers. Amazing how he could maneuver in that suit, cape whirling, yet not getting him tangled.

Droid after droid tried to defeat him, yet within minutes, all were smashed to small pieces. Was Vader even winded? Hard to tell.

Finally, when the last droid lay in three smouldering pieces, Vader deactivated his lightsaber and stood for a moment looking down at the droids. He then raised his head and looked up at Lyra. Lyra froze not knowing what to do. After a moment, Vader turned and walked out.

* * *

"_He never mentioned my watching him. I actually watched him several more times. Very impressive, I have to say. I always wondered if he imagined the droids as being the Emperor. I would never dare ask, and he would never dare say._

"_Oh, I almost forgot. Not too long after this, something truly odd happened. It was in the middle of the night, and I was in a deep sleep. I had just ordered the beautiful pink silk coverlet for my bed, so I was all wrapped up in it. It was very dark because I can't sleep with a lot of light, and the city is so bright even at night, so I had the windows set to dark. Very dark. One moment, I was in a deep, deep sleep, the next…"_

In

Out

In

Out

Raspy breath in, pneumatic breath out.

Lyra was instantly awake. Was a dark mask right in her face?

"Lights!" she shouted and flailed in the covers. As the lights came on, Lyra landed on her feet by the bed and looked around wildly, her heart beating hard. Through the bedroom door, she could see Vader standing, looking out over the city nightscape. Lyra was conscious of her messed up hair and short nightgown, but..._WHAT THE HELL?_

Crossing her arms over her chest, having no robe to put on, Lyra moved out into her sitting room.

"I'm sorry, my lord, I was asleep and didn't hear you come in."

_Why the hell are you here?_

Vader didn't turn from the window. "No matter."

Silence.

"Well, um, my lord, why aren't _you_ in bed?" Reasonable question.

"I just arrived back from the Kuat system."

_Oh...okay. Fine, but why are you _here_ in the middle of the night?_

"Oh," Lyra replied.

Vader said nothing, but turned and left.

_Alrighty then. _

_Note to self: buy a robe._

* * *

"_That was it?"_

"_That was it," Lyra laughed. "Neither one of us ever mentioned it. I have no idea why he was there. Oh, and then there was the time about a year later..."_

Mid-afternoon. Returning from a gown fitting and shopping, Lyra struggled to balance a couple of shopping bags and her purse as she moved through the door. Such a relief to get out of the palace and do normal things and mix with normal beings. She succeeded in entering without dropping anything, then suddenly stopped short. There, with his back to her, stood one Dark Lord looking out over the hustle and bustle of a sun-filled Coruscant day.

"Oh, excuse me, my lord…"

Vader didn't turn around. "I apologize for entering your quarters while you were out."

Lyra quietly sat the bags down and straightened. "Well, my lord, it is _your_ house."

"Hmmm." With that, the Dark Lord turned and strode across the room and left.

Lyra shook her head and began moving her yogurt from the shopping bag into her small refrigeration unit.

* * *

"I'm having a hard time reading Das' handwriting. It's about as bad as mine. Can you help me with this? In one of her writings, this one titled "The Nature of the Force," she says, let me see," Lyra held the sheet up to the light and squinted, 'like the Potentium, the dark side is - something, I can't make out this word - is something 'such as the ego, but is also a force, small 'f' that is separate from the self.' What in the world?"

Jael broke in. "The Potentium is the philosophy that the Force has no inherent light or dark side. People who follow the Potentium believe that the Force is inherently good and that darkness was something within the person only, such as character flaws. Like the Jedi, Das believed that darkness was within one's self, but was also something external to the person."

"So, there is what people call the dark side of the Force, while there are negative traits within us such as selfishness, jealousy, etc."

"Exactly," said Amera. "Now, groups like the Jedi advocated avoiding the dark side. To them, balance meant focusing only on the light side. Das and others said that balance meant just that: to walk the path perfectly between the light and dark sides. So, that's why we're Kir Zalah, or rather, the Path. We believe that you can draw on power from the dark side without falling into darkness."

"That part I don't get. The dark side is negative, so how do you use it without negative effects or being tainted by it? It seems to me that following the light side is the way to go."

"Oh, you'd have made a good Jedi," Amera laughed.

"I don't think so. I think I'd be much too opinionated for them. So, back to walking this path," Lyra said, eager to turn the conversation away from the Jedi.

Jael's explained, "Take righteous anger: anger because of suffering, anger because innocents suffer. Anger itself is of the dark side, yet we can harness anger to spur us on to doing good, to stopping the suffering and defending the innocent. But, if you dwell in the anger too long, it can overwhelm and consume you."

"And the Jedi believed that you shouldn't give in to the anger at all."

"Exactly, and in that, they were denying human nature. People get angry, and unlike the Jedi, our order and others like it believe that anger should be managed, not buried down and denied. It will only come out with a vengeance in that case."

"I agree. Giving in to anger is not the same thing as turning to the Dark Side."

"Qui-Gon believed as you do, that's why he had his detractors within the Jedi organization. He told me they felt that he was a bit of a 'gray' Jedi, one who flirted with the dark here and there."

"And Das must have been a gray Jedi too."

"Perhaps."

* * *

"_Little by little over time, Vader started to open up to me, a bit...as much as I think he could. He had an unusual way about initiating it, though," Lyra laughed._

The next day after their second court appearance, Lyra sat at her desk reading over Shelantu Das's memoirs of her time as a Jedi. The door slid open, and Vader entered.

"_He must never have learned about knocking," Lyra thought._

"My lord," Lyra said, standing and moving around the desk towards him.

"You did very well last night. As my wife, you conduct yourself very well."

"Thank you, my lord. I know that everything I do reflects on you."

"Yes," Vader paused, then said, "remove your clothes."

Lyra's heart jumped and her eyes grew wide. She hesitated for a moment, then, well, there was no choice. Lyra stepped out of her flats, and removed her pants, then top, bra, and panties. Heart beating wildly, she looked up at Vader and tried to appear brave. He looked at her up and down and moved closely behind her.

"You're very beautiful," he noted. Lyra felt a gloved hand cup her left buttock. "It's a shame to cover up such loveliness."

With that, he was gone. Fortunately, no guards were in the corridor as the door slid open for him.

* * *

"_The next day, I came upon him up on the promenade in his usual spot looking out over the city. He didn't say a thing about what had happened."_

"_Nothing?"_

"_Nope, but, he was the master, so I guess he saw it as his prerogative, and it was my place to obey. Also, shortly thereafter, I saw how it actually equalized our relationship a bit. He had seen me totally without defenses as I was just about to see him."_

"My lord," Lyra nodded to Vader as she walked along the promenade. Lyra never stopped to speak without being invited, so she made to pass around him and keep walking.

"What have you found so far in your reading of Das's memoirs?"

_He knew?_

Lyra turned to face him. "Well, she certainly didn't like the Jedi's rules. I think she deliberately broke as many as she could. She certainly had an eye for nice things and seems to imply that she kept many valuable objects that she came across while serving in the Empress Teta system. Also, she seemed to have more of an interest in the dark cult Krath than the Jedi would have approved of...my lord?"

Vader swayed and suddenly collapsed. Lyra didn't hesitate. "Help!" she screamed into her com link. "Lord Vader has collapsed on the promenade!" Lyra then actually hopped over him and ran to the door, yelling for help along the way. Where was everyone? Lyra looked back at Vader and then at the lift door. "Help, please!" What felt like minutes was actually seconds, and the door opened and Vanee and two guards ran out.

"This way!" Lyra ran back to Vader with the group behind her. Two medical droids then appeared out of the other lift. The medical droids were joined by a protocol droid, and everyone bent over Vader's prone form. Right then, two more guards ran up with a floating stretcher. They lifted Vader on to it, then the group sped back to the lift. Lyra ran alongside. The entire group squeezed into the lift, and it ascended. Getting off the lift, Lyra moved with the group to a pair of armored doors. Vanee turned to her. "My lady, the medical units will take it from here. I'll notify you as soon as there is news." He then turned and followed the group through the doors, which forcefully closed behind him, leaving Lyra standing alone.

_Well, fine._

* * *

For the next few hours, Lyra paced and tried to watch the news broadcasts, but couldn't concentrate on the debate on how to handle the drought on Tellus 9.

Shortly after dark, the door chimed. At her greeting, Vanee entered. "My lady, please follow me."

"How is Lord Vader?" Lyra asked as she followed Vanee into the lift.

Vanee turned to her. "My lady," he said quietly, "Lord Vader's respiratory system suddenly shut down. If you had not acted as quickly as you did, my lord might not have survived. The alarm attached to the system had also malfunctioned."

"Oh my," Lyra said, shocked. The lift opened at the same doors as before. As they approached, the doors slid open. Vanee led Lyra down another short corridor lined with the same armor and then through another set of blast doors.

At this point, the area opened to a vast area containing a large pod type structure. To the left was a room that looked like some type of workshop. To the right was a room with a full-size bacta tank. The area was dim, so Lyra couldn't see much else as they moved to the room beyond the tank.

"My lady, the pressure in the room is set so that Lord Vader can breathe. You will need to wear this mask if you're in here for more than a couple of minutes." Vanee helped Lyra place a thin, clear mask over her nose then left, the door sliding closed behind him.

As Lyra's eyes adjusted to the dimness, she spotted off to the side a full-size bed made up in black sheets. The walls of the room were lined with cabinet doors and drawers, all in black and chrome. A large multi-arm droid unit suspended from the high ceiling, its arms hovered over a large, padded medical reclining chair. In the dim light, Lyra saw the figure in the chair.

"Vanee told you my respiratory system malfunctioned?" a voice asked.

"Uh, yes, my lord. How are you doing?" Lyra looked around.

"You may come closer," the voice said in front of Lyra and slightly to the left. The lighting increased slightly. Lyra looked at the figure in a padded medical chair, dressed in a loose grey robe and black briefs. Lyra saw that both of his lower legs and lower arms were prosthetic, which she had not realized. Lyra also noted how muscular his scared thighs were.

"Are you shocked at my appearance?" The scared face and hairless head looked at her.

"Not really, my lord, I had gathered that you had been in some sort of accident that required the mask and suite. You voice is," Lyra paused, "surprising."

"Surprising?"

Lyra smiled slightly. "Yes, my lord. I'm used to the voice from the mask. Your real voice is well, normal."

"Normal?"

"Yes, my lord." Lyra smiled slightly, hoping to appear sympathetic, realizing how much it took for him to expose this much of his real self to her.

"My lord, I take it that you're doing better." At his nod, she continued, "What happened with the system? Vanee said that it malfunctioned, but how?"

Vader sighed and shifted in his chair. "The parts were worn out and when one failed, they all failed. I'll look at it myself tomorrow. Right now, I'm on a backup system."

"My lord, have you updated the system recently? Maybe it's time for a new one."

"No," Vader said, rising and moving past Lyra. _"Hmmm, quite tall," she thought._

Vader examined a console. "My master designed this system. I would appear ungrateful if I changed it."

_Tread carefully, Lyra. _"Was that recently? Since the system has failed, perhaps you can replace it with a new one."

Vader considered for a moment. "Perhaps. He already knows about my collapse. The surveillance system...and through the Force," he said at Lyra's questioning look. He moved to stand in front of Lyra and looked down at her. Lyra gazed up at him.

"You may go."

"My lord," Lyra nodded. "Good night."

* * *

"_So, after that, I didn't feel so embarrassed about having been naked in front of him since he had been, frankly, even more vulnerable in front of me. I realized he had placed a lot of trust in me, and I was determined not to give him reason to regret that. Like the prophecy said, I was there for a reason, and I believed that I was to assist him somehow."_

"_But he didn't say 'thank you.'_

_Lyra laughed. "Do Dark Lords know how to say 'thank you?' In a way, I think he did by allowing me into his quarters and seeing him like that, without his suit and mask. It's interesting how he still had his features for the most part despite the scarring. I think at one point, he had been quite nice looking."_

"_Did you ever think about what might have happened if you had not summoned help, if you let him die?"_

_Lyra thought. "Yes, I did think about that, later, but it wasn't my job to judge who lived and who died. Besides, what if I had delayed, and he survived? What would have happened to me then?"_

"_What would have happened to you if he had died?"_

"_I wondered about that too. I would have probably have gotten off the planet as soon as possible. I don't think anyone would have gone as far as to pursue me, but if I were right there, then Xixor might have been tempted to try something."_

* * *

_A week later…_

Lyra turned the corner on the promenade, and there, as usual stood Vader.

"My lord," she said in greeting as she made to move past him.

"I'm sure you're curious about my injuries."

"Well...yes, but it's none of my business, and I assume you'd share if you thought it were necessary."

Vader continued to look out over the city. "I was betrayed by a _friend_." Vader emphasized "friend." "We fought. I was injured...It was the last fight I ever lost." Vader paused as if in thought. "The Emperor found me near death and saved me. He fashioned my prosthetics and suit."

"So your need for the breathing apparatus, that's a result of the fight?"

"Yes, from deadly fumes and the fire."

"Oh my." Lyra thought for a moment. "So, your friend who betrayed you. He left you like that? Did he think you were dead?"

"He knew I was alive, and yes, he walked away."

"How horrible! Well, I'm sure the Emperor made sure you had the best care."

Vader did not reply.

Right then, Vader's comm unit chimed and he was off.

* * *

"_So, Vader had been betrayed by a friend over something, some matter, I don't know what. Also, they were in the area of fire and deadly fumes. So, clearly there was much more to the story. I'd have to be patient and see if he gave me more details over time. I'd have to let him open up since prying is simply not done with a Dark Lord."_

_Lyra continued, "Over the next few months, Vader would appear from time to time in my quarters asking what I found out about Shelantu Das. He would never admit it, but I think he wanted the company. I even came in one day from shopping and found him examining the timeline of documents that I had tacked to the wall behind my desk. More than once, he summoned me to discuss Das's philosophy of the Force, sometimes while he was in his bacta tank. I think he had to stay in the bacta for quite a while to keep infections down, particularly where the prosthetics joined his body. I've never been in bacta, but I've heard it's like floating in warm, thick water. I think it might have been the only pleasant thing in his life."_

"_Oh! Did I tell you how Vader had a turbo lift just for his own use? Yeah, medical droids and maybe guards could use it in an emergency involving his lordship, but that's it. Not Vanee, not me, just himself. Nice, huh."_

* * *

"You seem to have a disdain for the Force," Vader commented.

Lyra sighed and crossed her arms. "Well, no...well, maybe. It's just that I've have spent my life surrounded by people who (_careful not to reveal too much_) revered the Force. My mother and grandmother would philosophise endlessly about the Force. It was very tiresome. And then there was their disappointment in me, like I could control being a 'black hole' in the Force," Lyra added thinking back to when Amera commented to Jinn about Lyra being a "black hole." "That's one of the many reasons why I desperately wanted to go to a normal school and not the order's school."

"And the dark side?"

"The order talks a great deal about balance, but how you can pull from the dark without being contaminated by it. I see their point; sometimes you have to feel anger, to use anger to do good."

"The Jedi did not feel as you do; they had only contempt for the dark side. They denied that dark is more powerful than light."

Lyra looked up at Vader suspended in the tank. "How is the dark side more powerful?"

"The dark side does not deny aspects of our nature that are more honest, more efficient. Anger is more of a motivator than love or kindness. With the dark side, fueled by anger and aggression, nonsense is cast aside, and what truly matters can be accomplished without worrying about feelings or politics. The dark side is pure, raw power, power that the Emperor has used to create an Empire more efficient than the Republic ever was, more than the Jedi ever were," Vader added.

"Is it worth it, giving in to one's anger and other negative emotions and impulses?"

"You believe I made a mistake choosing the dark over the light?"

Lyra drew a deep breath and considered carefully. "I believe your choices are your business, my lord, and it's not my place to judge them. But," Lyra continued knowing there was no way out of the question, "I just ask in general, is engaging in the dark side worth the consequences?"

Vader was silent for several seconds. "There have been costs, and there have been benefits."

_Alrighty, not an answer. Leave it alone._

"You also believe that I'm wrong in not replacing my suit and other equipment."

"I believe, my lord, that you're an adult and do not need permission or feedback from _anyone_ on managing your equipment and your health." _How's that for some straightforwardness and efficiency. _

_Is _it_ worth the cost?_

Apparently so as Vader thought and said, "Perhaps."

* * *

"_Now, it wasn't this conversation, but about a year later I dared to ask Vader if he was a Sith. I had known about the Sith through my mother and grandmother, and pardon the pun, put two and two together and guessed that the Emperor and Vader were Sith Lords with Vader as the apprentice as the Sith rule of two dictated. If Vader was surprised that I knew this, he didn't let on but confirmed that he was in fact a Dark Lord of the Sith. So, I've referred to him as a dark lord, but it wasn't until that point that I actually knew." _


	5. Chapter 5

"Well ladies, I've come to some conclusions, but you might not like them. I've looked over everything you sent me and got a pretty good idea of what motivated Das. You see, what we're motivated by, what we value, determines our actions, right? Well, one sentence in a letter Das wrote told me a lot. Here it is. This is to someone she met while on a mission for the Jedi and maintained contact with. Everything in the communique is very above board, nothing suspicious or even interesting, but she says, and I quote, 'I served the Jedi well and accomplished everything they asked of me to the great benefit of society, but the Jedi never acknowledged my accomplishments.' That's it. She goes on to describe another mission, but that's all she said about her feelings, but I think it says a lot.

Jael sighed. "So, perhaps Das wanted much praise from the Jedi but never received any. That's just wasn't the Jedi way, particularly back in her time."

"Exactly. Just from that one remark, I think Das took pride in doing her job well and wanted acknowledgement. She wanted praise and that phrase, 'to the great benefit of society' says that in her eyes, she had done something great and praise-worthy. I really don't blame her. I think we're all like that to an extent, but I think that Das took it too far and allowed her pride to get in the way."

"I'm not quite following," Amera interjected. "You said that we're motivated by what we value."

"Yes. Das valued doing her work well, but also wanted to receive what she felt she was owed in return: praise and recognition. When she didn't get it-"

"Her pride was hurt and she became resentful," Amera concluded.

"Exactly. So that was one point. I paired that with facts about the Kir Zelah's financial situation. There was just too much money for a small school built by someone who, in theory, had no money. Where did the money come from for the land the school was built on, the buildings, the extensive library Das built?"

"Hmmm, but there are records of donations from students or their families."

"There are some, but with overhead, tuition and donations could not cover the costs of everything. Also, apparently Das developed expensive tastes over time. There's a veiled snide remark in another communique written about her after her death."

"Do you think she and Riven Creet really did steal and sell Jedi artifacts?"

"I can't say for sure, but someone, like the scholar on Omicrom 9, could make a good case for that. The question is, what to do now?"

On the view screen, Jael and Amera glanced at each other. "Thank you for all your work. You've greatly helped us even though this wasn't the result we'd hoped for. This knowledge does help us steer the narrative."

"Lie?"

"Move the conversation to other areas."

"Lie."

"Only if necessary," Jael pronounced.

* * *

"_Your mother and grandmother sound like quite the characters."_

_Lyra laughed, "You don't know the half of it!"_

* * *

During one of her explorations of the Dark Lord's palace, Lyra ventured back to the kitchen she had discovered earlier. This was a rather standard kitchen: very large, very chrome and clean, and for the most part, empty. Going in further, she found to her surprise, not the standard multi-arm COO cook droid, but a protocol droid preparing what might be her lunch. There wasn't much food prepared, so just for her and Vanee perhaps?

"Excuse me," Lyra said to the droid as it cut up a maroon squash. "What is your designation?"

The droid stopped slicing and turned to face Lyra, knife still in its hand. "I am V-8PO, my lady. I am a 434 FPC personal chef droid built by the premier droid manufacturer Cybot Galactica just for Lord Vader. I am equipped with over 17,000 recipes, and-."

"Thank you," Lyra interrupted. "So you know who I am."

"Yes, my lady. You are Her Ladyship, Lady Vader."

"Yes, well, can you tell me what Lord Vader likes to eat?"

"My lady ladyship, Lord Vader consumes food from this kitchen very rarely."

"Where does his food come from?"

"I do not have that information, my lady ladyship."

"What did he eat the last time he had something from this kitchen?"

"Pork with koori sauce, green carob beans, and seasoned lyn grains."

"Did he seem to like it?"

"I believe so, my lady ladyship. He consumed all of it as there was nothing on the plate when it was returned for cleaning."

"Okay. How long ago was this?"

"Seven years, my lady ladyship."

"Seven years! And he has had no food from this kitchen since then?"

"No, my lady ladyship," V-8 replied, polite enough not to remark that she had already given Lyra that information.

"It's just 'my lady."

"Yes, my lady ladyship."

Lyra smiled, "Okay, never mind. So you have no idea what Lord Vader usually uses for nutrition?"

"I do not have that information, my lady ladyship. Excuse me, my lady ladyship; I must stir the sauce on the stove."

"Yes, of course." V-8 moved to the stove and stirred the contents of a saucepan.

"So, whom do you cook for in this kitchen?"

V-8 set the spoon down and turned back to Lyra. "My lady, you, and supervisor Vanee."

"You said 'my lady!"

"Pardon my malfunction, my lady ladyship. I shall report this to supervisor Vanee."

Smiling, Lyra shook her head and leaned back against the counter. "So what about the crew in the landing bay?"

"My lady, ladyship, they eat and are quartered with the garrison stationed several floors down on level 275.

"So these upper levels are just for Lord Vader's personal use?"

"And yours, my lady ladyship."

"And Vanee?"

"His quarters are a floor above this so that he is near you and his Lordship and also near the functional areas of the palace."

"Well, that makes sense. So, V-8, I might cook some myself in this kitchen if that's all right, or is there another kitchen I should use?"

"This is the only kitchen for Lord Vader's living area, my lady ladyship. As Her Ladyship, you may do as you please in the functional areas. We have all been programmed to obey your orders."

"_So, I began to cook some in the kitchen whenever the mood struck. Now, V-8's abilities were good but rather basic. With Vanee's okay, I hired the chef of a restaurant just outside of the Palace District. This particular restaurant was a great place if you wanted really good food but nothing particularly fancy. The place where you knew you could always depend on a good meal. Vanee authorized a large payment and made contact with the chef. The chef was told that this was for a very important person in the government and very confidential. He was given a chip, which he programmed with recipes and cooking techniques. The chip was, of course, scanned thoroughly for any security risk. After that, V-8's cooking improved exponentially. I still cooked some when I wanted to."_

"_What about Vader? What did he eat?"_

"_Well, according to Vanee, Vader's suit had synth food pouches that he could sip from whenever he chose. He said that only very rarely did Vader request solid food, which he apparently was capable of eating - and digesting. But, I thought, it didn't hurt to try…"_

* * *

_Vanee moved silently down the walkway and through two sets of blast doors. Approaching the figure in the bacta tank, he sank to his knees and bowed. Peering up at the tank, he asked, "My lord, forgive me, but her ladyship bids me inquire if you like...mashed potatoooeessss," he said bowing again._

* * *

Several months later, Lyra rang the chime at the entrance to Vader's quarters while balancing a tray holding a freshly baked Almakian apple tart. After the door slid silently open for her, she entered the passageway and then froze. Sounds of moaning and gasping came from the medical area followed by a half scream as if someone was trying hard not to cry out. Then, a half-clang, half-thud.

"We are finished, my lord," a mechanical voice said. "All of your systems are functioning normally."

"Fine," a voice said weakly. Lyra peered around the opening. Vader sat slumped over in a med chair, naked except for black briefs. He appeared to be exhausted and in pain.

Before Lyra could talk herself out of it, she quickly walked into the medical area and stopped in front of Vader. He didn't react to her presence.

Lyra set the tray on a nearby table and felt Vader's forehead and left cheek. "My lord, you clearly have a fever. You," she motioned to a medical droid, "See to Lord Vader. He clearly has an infection, and give him pain medication." While speaking, Lyra looked around until she saw a blanket nearby on a med table. Lyra grabbed the blanket and settled it around Vader's shoulders.

"No, no pain…" Vader weakly said while at the same time the droid replied, "We have analyzed Lord Vader's systems. He has no infection."

"Look again," Lyra ordered, ignoring Vader's comment. "Perhaps I should call in an outside doctor. What if he found something you missed? Move!"

Lyra activated her comm unit. "V-8, have a cup of derivian milk tea brought to Lord Vader's quarters."

Lyra crouched down so she was eye-level with Vader. "This is unacceptable my lord. We can do better," she said matter-of-factly. Vader didn't argue, a clear sign he was not doing well.

A few minutes later, a medical droid moved up to Lyra. "Yes, my lady. There does appear to be an infection. We will administer an anti-infection medication."

"And a pain killer." Lyra ordered. "Really, these droids should have caught that infection the first time. Are these really the best med droids on the market?"

"No, no pain medication. I never use any." Vader looked at her.

Lyra paused, shocked. "Excuse me?"

"In the monthly maintenance, I've never used pain medication. Since the start, I've never had any."

Lyra stood up. "My lord, pain medication aids in healing. Here, drink this." Lyra offered him the tea a droid had just brought in.

Vader frowned at the sight of the tea but accepted it.

"What is this?" he said peering into the cup.

"Derivian milk tea. One of the few things I do credit my grandmother with. It's good for whatever ails you."

"_Humph,_" Vader replied, but took a cautious sip. "Hmmm." He settled back in the chair and sipped more. Lyra noted that he didn't fuss while the droids ministered to him.

"What if I hadn't made a fuss? Maybe it is time to re-evaluate these systems, all this," Lyra motioned around the room, "And your suit too." Vader didn't reply but kept sipping his tea. After a minute or so, he appeared to feel stronger.

Wanting to leave with her small victory intact, Lyra took a step back. "Well, my lord, I think things are under control here. I'll leave you to it. Oh, I brought a tart for you," Lyra gestured over to the tray.

Vader looked up at her, then over at the tart. Saying nothing, he took another sip from his tea.

"Well, good day, my lord," Lyra said, quite pleased with herself.

* * *

"_Ultimately, the changes to Vader's medical equipment were the result of sheer luck and seized opportunity. More on that later."_

_Lyra paused and refilled her cup with more caf. "Oh, around this time, I noticed something interesting. Up until this point, I had eaten off plain, white ceramic dishes. Nothing fancy at all. Very utilitarian. The only fancy glasses and cups that I had were what I bought for myself. Then one day, I noticed that the tableware was made up of fine china, still very plain, but china nonetheless with crystal drink wear. I noted casually to Vanee in passing that I appreciated the change, and he actually looked quite pleased."_


	6. Chapter 6

One morning, Vader suddenly appeared, failing to knock, as usual.

Lyra stood to greet him as she usually did. "My lord."

Vader rested his hands on his belt. "I have information I want for you to look over."

"Of course, my lord."

"This is information on a rebel pilot, the pilot who fired the shots that destroyed the Emperor's battle station."

Lyra had heard the rumors of a huge battle station and that the rebellion had destroyed it, but nothing was ever confirmed. Over time, news did get out. You can't really cover up something like that.

"I want to find this pilot, but so far, he's appeared elusive. Look over the information that I send and see what conclusions you can make, anything at all about him."

"Yes, my lord, but isn't Imperial Intelligence working on this?"

Vader paused for a moment. "Yes, but I want another perspective. It's crucial that you keep this confidential. I'll have a computer sent to you that has extra security in place. Use it when you work on this."

"Yes my lord. I'll see what I can find."

At that, Vader turned and left. Lyra sat back down at her desk and picked up her caf cup. Well, that's a bit of a compliment, isn't it.

* * *

"_Did he tell you how he found out who blew up the Death Star?"_

"_No; I just assume it was from his own network of spies. Everyone in power has their own network apart from Imperial Intelligence. I did find something interesting in the information he sent me."_

* * *

Early one evening, Lyra set out on the promenade, assuming that she'd find one Dark Lord there. Sure enough, there he was in his usual spot.

"My lord," Lyra said in greeting

"What have you found in the information that I sent you?" Not have you found anything, but what have you found.

"Well, so far, just what you've already seen in all the reports." Lyra crossed her arms and turned to face Vader. "There is one piece of information, though, that no one's commented on. Maybe they thought it wasn't important. But, there was a woman with the Skywalker name who lived on the same moisture farm where Luke Skywalker lived, but she died about four years before he was born. I think it's safe to say that she was some sort of a relative: grandmother, aunt maybe. This woman, Shmi Skywalker, and the property owner at the time, Cliegg Lars, apparently had quite the romance. Shmi was a slave when they met, and they courted on the sly. Shmi's owner had no clue or he would have probably driven up the price for her. Anyway, Lars bought and freed her, and they were married and by all accounts happily until she died in a raid by something called Sand People, some type of nomad there on Tatooine.

"So, this story stood out to me as important, but I don't know its significance yet, if any."

Lyra glanced up at Vader, who had gripped the railing tightly with both hands and was swaying slightly.

"My lord?"

Vader said nothing for a moment. "Let me know when you find something else," and with that, abruptly turned and marched quickly back into the building.

_Well that stuck a nerve._

* * *

The next day, Lyra ventured out following a habit she had formed (and most certainly noted by Imperial spies): a visit to the Imperial City Concourse luxury shopping area just beyond the palace district, window-shopping along its multi-storied walkways, all glassed in and shiny. This was followed by purchasing a caf at the trendy Ah'Valia caf shop (½ caf, ½ hot saffryn milk, and a dash of grated vimlin spice - yum!), which she enjoyed as she walked in the large park situated between the shopping district and the palace district. Lyra located a bench in her favorite spot near the large fountain. Enjoying the warm, sunny day, she observed a father patiently teaching his young daughter how to throw a ball. _Fathers and daughters... _

_After meeting Lyra for the first time, Jinn spent the rest of the afternoon with her, patiently listening while she showed him her cat Princess Sparkle and her box of treasures containing feathers, small lavender urgot shells, and other bits and pieces that are valuable to a small child. When they moved into the garden, Jinn sat beside her under the shimmer willow tree._

"_Lyra, do you understand who I am?" Lyra cocked her head and pondered._

"_I'm your father. Do you know what that means?" At her questioning look, Jinn continued. "You're much too young to understand the process, but one day you will. You've seen the women with babies in their tummies? Well, part of a man mixes with part of a woman, and that makes the baby grow in the woman's stomach. I am the man that made part of you."_

"_And I grew in Mother's tummy."_

"_That's right. Because of my work as a Jedi, I can't be here all the time, but I will come as often as I can, and you can contact me whenever you want." Lyra smiled at this._

_Over the next year, Jinn briefly visited a couple more times, and he and Lyra spoke often over the holonet. A year and a half after first meeting, Lyra was playing under this same tree when Amera came to tell her…_

Enough of that. Lyra finished her caf and hurried off to her hair appointment.

* * *

Night time. The halls Vader moved through mirrored his soul: empty, cold, and going a predetermined path that could not be altered. Vader strode through his palace with an unexplained restlessness. The dark must continually be fed, and the emptiness that filled him did just that. Vader paused before one door - why did he come here of all the places he could go? Before he could move off, Vader stepped forward, and the door slid open. Inside was an assault on his senses: light, warmth, softness. Potted trees sat near the large window that gave a panoramic view of the city. Small string lights nestled in amongst the leaves giving off a soft glow. Here and there were shades of beige and mauve, and bright pink flowers sat on a table near the door. Running water could be heard coming from the bedroom area, and music played over the sound of the shower. To his dismay, for a split second, Vader lingered and enjoyed the setting. Shoving aside this moment of weakness, Vader spun around and out. Stronger measures were needed to counteract this moment. He activated his comm unit.

"Commander, ready my shuttle. Notify the pilot that we leave for Mustafar."

* * *

Later that month...

Lyra had a feeling he'd be here. Yep, in his usual spot, cape moving slightly in the night breeze.

"My lord, I've looked over all the information on Luke Skywalker and have put together some thoughts."

Vader continued to look out over the city. "What have you found?"

Lyra moved forward a few feet. "I took the same approach that I used when I investigated Shelantu Das for my mother and grandmother. We're motivated by what we value. We value something - an idea, a person, anything - and that drives our actions. Skywalker is obviously held in high regard by the Rebellion. Where there is a major attack or mission, he'll be there. Of course, determining what that would be in advance is difficult. But, he seems to work with the same set of people. Leia Organa for one, and there's a man too. I think it's safe to say that they work well together and even have a friendship. Luke's actions over time show a loyalty to his friends. A protectiveness even. He values friendship; he values them, so…" Lyra stopped herself as she was just about...

Vader, though, had no problem with the idea. "Luke will be where his friends are. An option would be to target them and flush him out. Interesting."

"Yes, my lord."

With his usual show of enthusiastic gratitude, Vader turned without comment and stalked off.


	7. Chapter 7

"_I was never really involved in Vader's day-to-day work. I know there were things that I would not have approved of and would have been horrified by if I had known about them, but what could I do?" Lyra threw up her hands. "Nothing! So, I decided that ignorance was bliss. I had to live in that environment, so maybe it was best if I didn't know what was going on. I did, though, stumble on something one day, apparently a project of Vader's."_

Thursday. Gray, rainy, not much to do. Lyra could either work on financial reports for the school or she could see if the newly returned Vader was practicing with the battle droids as he frequently did on days like today. Battle droids it was. Lyra took the turbo lift down to the gym level and moved towards the observation deck...what in the world? Propped against the wall was a very large, three pointed spear. Lyra leaned in to examine it further.

"Well, look at this. She's a pretty one," a voice purred in Lyra's ear. Lyra whirled around as a hand grasped her shoulder. Right in her face was a female Dathomirian, white skin and silver eyes glowing. The Dathomirian was joined by a Falleen and two humans. All very muscular, all carrying weapons, all in civilian clothes mostly seen in the bars and hangouts in the city's lower levels, and all crowding in very close, totally surrounding Lyra. The Falleen smiled and leaned in to smell Lyra's hair.

"Um, nice," the Falleen said as she lifted a lock of Lyra's hair.

"Excuse me, what _are_ you doing?" Lyra demanded.

The group laughed. "She sounds tough," the Dathomirian said to the group. "Maybe we should practice on her and then have a bit of fun afterwards." Everyone laughed.

"If there's anything left," the human male noted and smirked.

"Maybe you should find out who I am first," Lyra said, looking the Dathomirian in the eye.

"Okay, I'll play, who are you, other than our next toy?" The Dathomirian smirked at Lyra.

"Lady Vader."

Well that did the trick.

All four jumped back as if Lyra had announced she was in the oozing stage of myleath pustule disease.

"Oh…' the Dathomirian said, no longer smiling.

"Vader has a wife or a daughter? How do we know she's telling the truth?" This from the human female.

"_Wife_, and you can ask him yourself." Lyra put her hands on her hips and turned around to look at each of the four. "In fact, why don't we find him right now. You can explain how you laid hands on his _wife_ and how you threatened to do me harm."

The four looked nervously at each other. "What are you doing here anyway?" Lyra demanded from the Dathomirian.

"We're training with Lord Vader. We've been picked to carry out special projects for him."

"_Humh_," Lyra replied, not impressed. She looked around at the group. "And you _play_ with victims as part of your practice?"

"Well no, I mean, we haven't...I mean...we didn't mean anything by all that…" said the female human.

The human male stepped forward and leaned in towards Lyra. "We're Force-sensitives and followers of the dark side. As a Dark Lord, Lord Vader is training us to use our rage to channel the dark side to crush all opposition to the Empire." The human male raised his clenched fist and snarled, "We will cause blood to run in the streets! We will trod on the bodies of those we conquer! The galaxy will tremble before us, and we will rejoice at destruction!"

Lyra frowned at him for a moment.

"Well _that_ attitude will get you nowhere in life," she said, wagging her finger in the human male's face. "If you have any sense in your head, you will get yourself back into school and learn an honest trade because all that destruction will boomerang back on you." Lyra looked around at each in the group. "Hard work, good intentions, and treating people honestly and fairly are the only ways to ultimately succeed. I don't know what hurts occurred in your lives that brought you to this point, but your perception of power is false. Whatever hurt and anger that you're "channeling," Lyra said, make quote marks in the air with her finger, "is going to drag you down, not lift you up. Now, you go think about that long and hard, and don't let me see you mistreating anyone. Got it?"

The group shifted uneasily. "Well?" Lyra said, raising her voice.

"Fine."

"Yes."

"Yes _what_?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good," Lyra said before anyone could bring up the issue of Vader's orders. "Now, stay out of trouble," she said, pointing at each one, "or else!" Giving the group one last stern look, Lyra turned and strode off, head high.

_I am not my grandmother's granddaughter for nothing._

Lyra entered the turbolift and turned around to give them one look. As the lift began to rise, she exhaled and sank back onto the back wall and started to shake.

_The figure in the shadows silently moved down the hall to the turbolift. Vanee entered Vader's quarters and knelt before Vader in the bacta tank. "My lord," he said, "the trainees accosted Lady Vader on level 329 and threatened her with violence. She gave them quite a...tongue lashing…." Vanee bowed his head as Vader's anger grew._

* * *

That evening, Vader entered Lyra's quarters, not knocking, as usual. "I have disciplined my trainees for daring to accost you. They will not dare touch you again."

Lyra sat up straight in her chair. "Oh, well.. " Lyra stood up. "My lord, who _are_ they? What are they doing here?"

"They're select Force-sensitives I'm personally training to carry out special missions. I'm teaching them to harness the raw power of the Dark- did you really tell them to leave and go to _school_?"

"Yes my lord, I told them they needed to learn an honest trade, and that they'd succeed only through hard work and good intentions." _Gulp._

"The Dark…" Vader stopped suddenly and put his hands on his hips. He looked down and shook his head and...chuckled. Still shaking his head, Vader turned and left.

_Well._

* * *

The next day, Lyra stood with her arms crossed protectively, looking out over the cityscape.

_So many going to and fro with no idea of what is going on in the halls of the powerful. _

Lyra admitted to herself that she was still jumpy and raw after her interaction with Vader's trainees. There was still that sick feeling in her core of possible violence, pain, and doom. The worst was the sense of helplessness of being hemmed in on all sides with no skills for fighting back. What if she hadn't been Lady Vader? This carried Lyra right back to being assaulted by Xixor and held prisoner by the Emperor. Next was the thought of the trainees possibly practicing on real, defenseless people. At this thought, Lyra moaned and leaned her forehead against the glass. Did she dare bring it up to Vader? Would that be crossing a line? What if she found out that they were? Right then, the door chimed.

"Come in," Lyra called.

Vanee entered and moved to the middle of the room. "Good morning, my lady. Do you wish to set a time to go over the running of the palace before I leave for Mustafar? If you wish, protocol droids can tend to most things.

"Mustafar? What's on Mustafar?"

"Lord Vader's fortress. I take it you weren't aware."

"That he had a fortress on Mustafar or anywhere? No, I didn't know. What do you do there?"

"My lady, I ensure everything is running smoothly in the event Lord Vader arrives. The only prior notice the staff has of his arrival is just before his shuttle lands. So, everything must be kept in prime condition, just like here."

"Huh. So, that's where Lord Vader goes when he's not here or not on a mission for the Emperor?"

"Usually my lady, yes."

"Oh," Lyra moved a few steps forward. "Vanee, I know this is an unusual question, but does Lord Vader keep prisoners there, or here, prisoners that he or his trainees, shall we say, practice on?"

"My lady, you're thinking about yesterday. I saw the exchange. You handled it before I could step in. All I can say is that to my knowledge, the trainees have not practiced on any live, sentient beings. Battle droids, yes."

Lyra nodded, "Thanks." She looked at Vanee with a slight smile, then a thought occurred to her.

"Oh, uh, another unusual question, and this is just for my own curiosity, nothing more. Does Lord Vader have any women at any of his other homes or fortresses, or whatever?"

"Mustafar and Vjun, and no my lady, you're the only woman in his life."

"Thank you, like I said, I was just purely curious, and yes, I'd like to get together. I have a call with my mother and grandmother today, so maybe tomorrow after lunch would be a good time to go over the running of the palace."

"Very good my lady, tomorrow then." With that, Vanee bowed his head and left.

_Very interesting, off-world fortresses and no women. Hmmm._

* * *

Later that day, Lieutenant Zholl Hans rushed into the monitoring room in the Emperor's palace. "Have they started yet?"

"Nope," his co-worker Lieutenant Chiklo replied. "The call's scheduled for 1400, so they've got a couple of minutes. Here's Janasen."

"Good, just in time." Janasen Menka said, sliding into the third chair at the panel. "This is the highlight of my week. Watching these three go at it is far more interesting than any other communication I have to suffer through."

Chiklo keyed in a command on the panel and turned up the volume. "Here they are." All three officers leaned in.

Lyra sat back in her chair. "So, that's the best I could come up with after going over these financial reports."

"Maybe we should give some background for all the people listening in."

"No one's listening in, Mother. They all died of boredom a long time ago."

"Your butler apparently died quite a while ago, and _he's_ still on the job," Jael remarked.

"We're not all as perfect as you, Grandmother," Lyra replied. "So, what did you get the girls in the orphanage?"

"What? Oh, we didn't. We had to divert that money to other matters." Amera said.

"You did _what_?" Lyra exclaimed. "I sent that money specifically to buy gifts for the orphans. _Really_ Mother!"

"We had severe maintenance issues. The money was better spent there."

"It's my money, Mother, and I will say where it goes. If you had just done the periodic maintenance like you should have, your buildings wouldn't be falling down. You do realize you _stole_ from _orphans_, right? What are you going to do next, mug a puppy?"

(Menka choked on his mouthful of caf.)

"Really Lyra, you're very melodramatic."

"No, just very annoyed. I'll buy presents myself and send them, and I want them to go to the girls."

"Speaking of the students," Jael interjected to change the subject, "none of our new students seem to manifest any Force sensitivity."

"So noted for those listening in."

"I thought you said no one was listening in," Amera remarked.

"No one is listening in."

"And of course we'd report it if we suspected anyone of having Force sensitivities," Jael reported in the monotone voice she used when she was forcing herself to behave.

"Of course. We are a law-abiding order. I wouldn't even know how to train a Force sensitive child," Amera said, turning to Jael, who shook her head.

"That reminds me of Jinn," Amera added, looking back to Lyra.

"What?" Lyra said, re-focusing her attention.

"Jinn wrote once and said something about taking on a young boy to train, a boy who showed great potential in the Force. Jinn was determined to train the boy even though the Jedi Council thought the boy was too old. It seems Jinn stood up to the Council and told them that he would train the boy."

"Oh, I imagine that didn't go over well."

"Well, he already had an apprentice. In fact, he was the one who told me Jinn had been killed."

Lyra looked up from the numbers she was going over. "I'm sorry, who?"

"The pad thai."

"The what?"

"The pad something, the apprentice. I don't remember his name. Anyway, he was the one who contacted me when Jinn died."

"So what happened to the boy?" Jael asked.

"Oh," Amira said, "The apprentice was promoted to full-time Jedi and took the boy on as _his _apprentice."

"Do you know what happened to them later? In the purge?"

"Let's see, the boy would have been an adult by then. No, probably killed or in hiding."

"Well, if he and the pad thai are in hiding, they need to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. No one wants to discuss the Jedi; I found that out." Lyra sighed.

_But this does ring a bell._

"It's most unfortunate what happened with the Jedi, uh, I mean, how the Jedi turned out," Amera hastily noted. She turned to Jael. "Jinn talked about how excited he was to train the boy. Imagine how it must have been to train someone with that much Force potential."

"So, _I _must have really been a disappointment with my zero Force potential."

"Well, at first,"

("What a bitch," Menka muttered. The other two nodded in agreement)

"Excuse me?" Lyra said, setting down her pen.

"I'm sure you can see things from our perspective, my dear. Having slept with Jinn, it was reasonable to expect a child with outstanding potential. So, initially, there was some disappointment."

"And of course, today, we would never try to deliberately produce a Force-sensitive child," Jael interjected, afraid of Imperial law.

"Oh, my gosh," Lyra said, ignoring her grandmother and struggling to find the words. "I'm sorry I was such a failure, such a lack of potential." Tears sprang up in Lyra's eyes.

"Oh, don't be like that," Amera expressed, a bit exasperated.

"Don't be like that? Don't dare to feel like the failure you always made me feel? All because I couldn't manifest your _damn_ Force?"

Jael's eyes widened in shock. "The Force binds the galaxy together and runs through all living things. The Force is to be respected and —"

"_Fuck the Force_!"

"Lyra!" At that, Lyra cut the connection.

"Good for her," said Menka. Chiklo and Hans nodded and murmured words of sympathy.

Vader sat back in his seat and thought.

* * *

The next day, Vanee appeared. "My lady, Lord Vader has summoned you to join him on his command ship. Are you familiar with the_ Executor_?"

"Uh, no...Did he say why he wants me?"

"No, my lady. Your shuttle is scheduled to leave from pad C in two hours. Oh, my lady, if I may make a suggestion, when traveling with his lordship, you might encounter the Emperor. May I suggest that you travel with a formal court dress, just in case?

"Excellent idea, thank you."

Two hours notice, huh. What does one wear on board an Imperial star destroyer, particularly when one's own husband commands the entire fleet? Lyra decided upon black slacks, black boots, and a black casual yet expensive jacket that was all the rage on Coruscant. Underneath it, she wore a dark turquoise sweater to give the ensemble a bit of color. She packed a couple of bags, black of course, with a few similar outfits and a formal court dress and flats and pulled her hair back into a simple ponytail.

Doing a final inventory of her bags, Lyra added her personal computer and some snacks at the last minute. One must always be prepared.

* * *

Aboard the _Executor_, Vader stood staring out the front of the bridge windows, thinking, hands clasped behind his back. Turning, he strode down the center walkway to Captain Piett.

"Captain, my wife's shuttle will arrive in the next few hours. See that she's escorted to the executive quarters."

For a brief second, Piett's shock showed. "Uh...yes, yes my lord," Piett stammered. "I'll have an honor guard greet her ladyship."

"No, she doesn't like that. Have a couple of officers escort her."

"Yes, my lord."

As Vader left the bridge, Piett and the others looked at each other in amazement. Soft murmuring arose.

_Vader has a wife?_

_Did you hear him defer to her wishes?_

While officers usually went out of their way to not meet Lord Vader, Piett had a competition on his hands for officers clamoring to greet Lady Vader.

* * *

Thirteen hours later, the Imperial shuttle _Valiant_ docked in a landing bay on the_ Executor. _And not a moment too soon. While the shuttle was the top of the line and luxurious, it was still hard to sleep properly, and Lyra was going stir crazy. Wanting to catch a glimpse of the _Executo_r as they approached, Lyra stood behind the pilots and peered out the front window.

_Oh. My. Stars. That ship is enormous. _ _Understatement of the year._

Upon disembarking, Lyra was met at the end of the ramp by Captain Piett and one Lieutenant Mallix who both looked at her nervously and yet fascinated like she was a newly discovered species of bug.

"Lady Vader, welcome to the _Executor_. Lieutenant Mallix and I will escort you to the executive quarters. I trust you had a nice trip?"

"Thank you Captain, Lieutenant. Yes, quite uneventful."

The group moved out of the massive landing bay and through the ship's corridors. Lyra was fascinated, never having been on a military ship before, a fact she noted to Piett.

"My first military ship, and I seem to have gotten the very best."

"Oh yes, my lady, we're quite proud of the _Lady Ex_, as she's fondly known as."

As they chatted, Lyra noticed the mostly male and human crew. _Typical of the Empire. _Word must have spread about who she was because as she passed, crew members would subtly stop and look her way.

_Were they expecting Lady Vader to have horns and fangs? Probably. I would have too._

"Captain, I assume there are areas of the ship where I shouldn't go. Could you tell me where I am allowed to go?"

"Of course my lady, in fact, Lieutenant Mallix here can give you a tour of the ship and note the areas that are restricted. Of course, his lordship can give permission for you to go anywhere he chooses."

Lyra smiled. "Not to worry, I'll stay out of any sensitive areas," she noted thinking that she'd probably stay mostly in her quarters.

After showing Lyra around the spacious executive quarters, Piett noted that Lt. Mallix would take care of anything that Lyra needed. Lt. Mallix showed Lyra how to contact him, then both men left. Lyra looked around the room. Very nice, more luxurious than the residence on Coruscant. Dark brown leather furniture, grey marble table tops, a few tasteful pieces of Dacre mahogany sculptures, but obviously no equipment for a certain dark lord. Vader had obviously not done the decorating.

* * *

_"So, what is she like?" Everyone nearby stopped what they were doing and listened._

_Piett paused for a moment and thought. "Pretty, 30s, I'd say. Pleasant, maybe a bit shy. Nice."_

Huh. Well that certainly gave everyone something to talk about at dinner.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Lieutenant Mallix arrived and showed Lyra around some of the engine areas, the beltway hauler system used for moving large quantities of cargo around the ship, and even some of the crew entertainment areas. All in all, it was fascinating, and Lyra was able to ask questions and make comments based on her reading up on the _Executor_ in flight.

It wouldn't do for Lady Vader to look ignorant - or bored.

After a time, Lieutenant Mallix stopped in front of a large door. "Lord Vader instructed me to bring you here at the end of our tour. I believe he's inside now. If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to contact me."

Lyra thanked him, and with a smart bow of his head, Mallix left. Lyra looked around at the door for the button to open it. As she stepped forward, the door slid open, apparently already programed to recognize her. Lyra moved down a short flight of steps to a spherical hyperbaric chamber such as on Coruscant. She hesitated for a moment, then called, "Hello?"

The jagged halves of the chamber separated revealing Vader sitting in the middle without his mask and helmet. "Come in," he said. Lyra entered the small area, and the two halves closed again.

"My lord," she said. Lyra looked around. "Well, uh, I'll sit here if that's okay," she said settling down on the floor.

"This area is designed for one," Vader said, "but we can talk without being overheard."

"Yes my lord."

"We're hauling slaves to the manufacturing facilities on Negus 9."

"_Slaves_? Here in the core areas? And using a ship like the _Executor_?"

"The Emperor commands it."

"Oh…," Lyra noted, expectantly. Vader stared ahead, deep in thought.

"And what is your opinion?"

"The Emperor says that they're from an area in open rebellion and that with their labor, they're benefitting the Empire and bringing purpose to their lives."

"And you disagree?"

Vader didn't reply for a moment, then commented, "I do as the Emperor commands. It is not my place to disagree."

"So you disagree."

Lyra leaned forward, "The Emperor is having you haul slaves on your own command ship. He's approving of slavery, my lord, and _(tread lightly here, Lyra_) he's, well, making a point with you; about what, I don't know. "

Vader looked ahead, pondering her words.

_Oh my lord, my lord, you do have a way of having me say what you're scared to say._

Right then, Vader's comm system chimed.

"What is it captain?"

"My lord," Captain Piett announced, "we've arrived at the coordinates for the training exercises. We're awaiting the arrival of the _Adjudicator_ and the _Engager._"

"Good. Tell the ships to begin to prepare for the first exercise," Vader replied before cutting off the communication.

"Come. You can watch the exercise from the bridge." With that, a mechanized arm lowered Vader's helmet in place.

Minutes later, the Lady Ex's entire bridge was shocked beyond belief when Lord Darth Vader entered the bridge with her ladyship in tow. Lyra walked behind him as he strode down the center walkway toward the front window. Crewmen openly stared as Lyra walked by, both amusing her and making her self-conscious.

_Do not trip, do not trip._

Lyra moved to stand beside Vader right as the remaining two star destroyers emerged from hyperspace. Vader pointed out to Lyra what each group of TIE fighter was to accomplish in the exercise. At Vader's signal, the exercise began, or in Lyra's eyes, all hell broke loose. Every now and then, the bridge crew saw Vader point to something followed by Lyra looking that way and nodding and responding. At certain points, she'd point and he'd look and apparently respond.

_Vader is chatting and explaining and...and considering someone other than himself!_

_Who _is_ this Lady Vader?_

* * *

"_My time on the Executor wasn't much different than on Coruscant. I mostly stayed in the executive quarters and worked on administrative tasks for the Kir Zahah school, particularly since this was the time for setting the class schedule for the next year. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were delivered to me and served on very fine china. I thought it was interesting that my meals were not delivered by droids but by human servicemen, all of whom made sure to get a good look at me, and did it really take three people each time to deliver my food? All in all, very amusing."_

"_Why do you think Vader had you on this trip?"_

_Lyra sighed and thought. "I think it was for the company. He would probably not have admitted it, but yeah, I was company, someone he could drop his facade around, at least a bit. I think."_

* * *

Over time, Lyra and Vader fell into a rhythm of sorts as Vader began spending time in the executive quarters, something he apparently had not done before. Most evenings, Lyra would read or work at the desk while Vader would work at a large console that appeared one day while she was out. No explanation about it was ever given, or expected. She'd work, and he'd work.

One morning after showering, Lyra stepped out of the bathroom in just a towel to find Vader already at his console, which also allowed him a view straight into the bedroom and bathroom.

"Good morning, my lord," Lyra said since there wasn't anything else to say. Not waiting for a response, Lyra grabbed her clothes and moved to the edge of the bedroom just out of his view. She dressed quickly, very quickly, then went back into the bathroom to do her hair and makeup. Out of the corner of her eye, Lyra could see that she had an audience. Tinted moisturizer, a touch on the lashes with an eyelash curler - _wonder what he thinks about that_ \- a little mascara, a touch of neutral eye shadow, and so on. By this time, Lyra had forgotten her observer and moved on to thinking about the school records that she was trying to sort through. After washing her hands, Lyra picked up her brush, bent over at the waist and began brushing her hair like she normally did. She straightened and swung her hair from side to side while continuing to brush it. Now, Vader was openly staring. Lyra sprayed her hair, let the fan run for a minute, and was done. She didn't say anything as she moved to her desk and began reading the day's many messages from Jael and Amera.

Right then, the door chimed. Out of habit, Lyra called, "Enter," without looking at Vader. The door slid open, and three stewards with breakfast entered.

"My lady, we found some of the drolian tea that you liked so much, and the chef made some sweet berry cakes…" The head steward froze when he saw Vader. "Uh...yes, just for you." The enthusiastic stewards were now moving in a hurry to set up her breakfast at the table, anxious to not make a mistake, anxious to be gone.

"How sweet, pardon the pun. Thank you so much! If it's all right, I might thank the chef in person."

"He'd be flattered, my lady," the head steward nervously replied. "Anything else we can do for you?"

"No, that's all. Thank you again." With that, the three stewards basically ran out of the room.

_Well, in their place, I guess I'd be scared too,_ Lyra thought as she got up to move the plates to her desk.

* * *

Later that week, Lyra received a call from Vanee on Coruscant.

"You have received a package, my lady. From the Kir Zalah," Vanee said, peering at the return address. "Shall I place it in your quarters?"

Lyra sighed. Curiosity won out. "Can you open it for me? Be careful; it's probably a relic that will unleash a thousand nags." Why now? A peace offering?

"Of course, my lady." Vanee reached off to the side and picked up a tool that he used to neatly slice open the box. Vanee unwrapped the object inside and held it up to the viewer. By now, Vader had moved behind Lyra and was watching the screen. He and Lyra both gazed at a framed photo of Qui-Gon Jinn holding a small Lyra in his arms, both laughing for the camera.

"There is no note, my lady, just this."

Lyra said nothing for a moment, struggling to keep her emotions under control. "Thank you Vanee. Please have it sent to my quarters."

"Yes, my lady," Vanee replied, signing out.

Vader said nothing, but just stood and stared at Lyra.

"Your mother is trying to make amends," he noted. _Of course he knew about their fight. Wonder what he thought about my opinion of the Force?_

"Perhaps," Lyra softly replied and moved on to her work, not really concentrating on it. Vader remained where he was.

"You've never asked me about Jinn."

Lyra paused and turned in her chair to face Vader. "No my lord. I didn't want to pry." Lyra stopped herself before she could note that he's not the easiest guy to talk to.

Vader rested his hands on his belt. "As I said some time ago, Jinn found me as a small child and brought me before the Jedi council. The council was initially hesitant to train me because I was older while most children are brought to the Jedi as infants." Vader turned slightly towards the window. "Jinn persisted, and ultimately I was trained as a Jedi."

"So you were the boy," Lyra said in amazement. No sense hiding the conversation since he clearly knew about it.

"Yes." Vader turned back towards her. "Jinn was one of the greatest Jedi of his time, and to his credit, he was not intimidated by my potential, but saw the wisdom in nurturing it, unlike the council."

_Now don't get all modest._

"Jinn was wiser than the council and clashed with them often. He did not let himself be limited by Jedi philosophies that were not useful."

"So he was a bit of a maverick," Lyra noted.

"Yes, and it kept him from being appointed to the council." Vader turned toward his console and looked down at it.

"Jinn was an expert fighter with a lightsaber. I learned much watching holovids of his practices."

"But he was still killed in a fight."

"That was his destiny." At that, Vader turned and left the quarters.

_Well, I guess we're done._

Lyra sat back in her chair and thought, secretly pleased that Jinn balked at rules that didn't make sense. _Maybe I have some of his maverick tendencies since I refused to be a priestess and insisted on making my own way._

* * *

The next day, a summons arrived, this time for Vader's quarters. Lyra entered and looked around the vast room, very dim and sparse except for a large reclining medical chair and medical droids with a bed beyond. Just like home. A breathing machine hummed in the background, so no need for a mask for Lyra since the room was not pressurized.

"Some have said that Jinn would have embraced the dark over time." A raspy voice came from out of the dimness. Her eyes adjusting to the dark, Lyra could make out Vader's unsuited figure in a medical chair, a breathing mask covering his lower face.

Lyra didn't hesitate. "Why do they think that?"

"Jinn was practical. He disagreed with many of the more restrictive of the Jedi's teachings. Over time, particularly with the influence of my master, Qui-Gon would have seen the wisdom of the dark side."

Conscious that she was still standing in the middle of the room and had not been invited to sit or move in further, Lyra clasped her hands behind her back and continued to look at the figure in the dimness. "And what do you think?" _Fair to ask since you started this conversation._

Vader turned and fiddled with something on the arm of the medical chair. "It's all supposition, but it makes sense. My master had marked Jinn as someone to cultivate a friendship with, someone who possibly could be made to see sense. What are _your_ thoughts?"

"Ah…," Lyra looked down at the floor, her heart beating. "According to my mother, Jinn followed but yet questioned some of the Jedi teachings, and when he departed from, or rather, bent the Jedi teachings, he did it for the good of others. Nothing she has told me indicates that he was tempted by the dark. He was devoted to following the will of the Force and learning more about how the Living Force flowed into the Cosmic Force and what that meant. I have to confess, at this point, the Force-talk gets a bit muddled to me."

"Hmmm, the Kir Zelah. Shelantu Das embraced the dark side. The teachings of the Kir Zelah have a dark influence."

Lyra frowned slightly. "I've never heard that. Yes, the Kir Zelah are comfortable with dipping into emotions considered dark, such as aggression, but always with a light side motive. Why do you think Das turned to the dark side?"

"As you noted earlier, Das was interested in the dark cult of the Krath. She was actually more than interested. Das began following the Krath after learning of them while in the Empress Teta system. Roughly three thousand years ago, the Krath had aligned with the Sith in their war against the Jedi."

Lyra racked her brain thinking back through her history lessons. "That sounds familiar. The Great Sith War. The Jedi ultimately won." _Oops! Maybe I shouldn't have said that!_

Trying to distract from her possible blunder, Lyra continued, "You said she began following the Krath."

"Das was known to visit the Krath temples in Cinnegar on Koros. These temples are steeped in dark energies. Das would have been open to these energies given her break from the Jedi."

"Huh," Lyra said, thinking. "It will be amusing to tell my mother and grandmother just to see the look on their faces." Lyra smiled at the thought. Not knowing what else to say, Lyra asked, "Have _you_ visited any of the Krath temples?"

"No, I've been too busy on the Emperor's business, but one day." Vader looked straight at Lyra. "And you? What do you choose?"

Lyra knew exactly what he meant. Fear shot through her. "I'm not Force-sensitive, my lord, so...it's irrelevant."

"Indulge me."

Here goes nothing. "Well, to be honest. The light side makes the most sense to me. Relying on peace and goodness probably takes longer for results, but I think those results are deeper and more lasting over time. The light side is not something I choose; it's just something I am."

"Everyone chooses."

Lyra nodded and glanced down. "Yes, perhaps."

Vader audibly sighed and stood up. Turning away, he commanded, "You may go."

"Good night, my lord." Lyra turned and hurried out, her eyes suddenly wide with shock. As Vader spoke at the end, he turned in profile and it was obvious that not only was he naked, but that he was highly aroused.

* * *

The next day, the door chimed. At Lyra's invitation, Lt. Malix entered.

"My apologies for bothering you, my lady, but the _Executor_ has had to leave the An-Kar system. We're now on our way to the Hoth system."

"Oh, well that's disappointing. Well, hopefully I can make it to An-Kar falls some other time. What's in the Hoth system?"

Malix relaxed and clasped his hands behind his back. "From what I understand, nothing much. Lots of ice."

Lyra laughed. "Sounds like fun." At that, Malix bowed and made his goodbyes,

Lyra called up information about Hoth on the holonet. There was nothing more than Lt. Malix had told her.

_Well, I'll probably never hear about why we're here, but it can't be anything too exciting._

Excitement, though, did come later that day. Lyra was working on the class schedule for the Kir Zelah school (_Seriously, after all this time, Amera and Jael still haven't figured out this software, or am I just a sucker?)_, when there was a loud bang somewhere above and to the left of her. Oh, there it was again. This time it was more like a combination of a thud and a crash. Lyra stood up and made her way to the large window.

_They've got to be crazy! Asteroids! The Lady Ex is a huge ship but can still be seriously damaged! Whose kriffing idea was it to enter an asteroid field? I mean, really, I know not to do that!_

Lyra yelped and jumped back as an asteroid crashed loudly against her window. Feeling silly but not taking any chances, Lyra hurriedly gathered up her data pad and other items and hightailed it to the bathroom. What if the window did break? Unlikely given the strength of the glass, but... asteroids! At a high rate of speed!

Not wanting to bother anyone by asking what was going on - obviously something pretty serious - Lyra spent the rest of the afternoon in the bathroom, venturing out to grab some caf and a snack.

After a few hours, Lyra peeked out. The ship seemed to have moved out of the asteroid field. With a sigh of relief, she moved her things out of the bathroom just in time for dinner. During dinner, Lt. Malix rang her on the comm system.

"My lady, Lord Vader has been called away. A shuttle will take you back to Coruscant tomorrow. I will arrive at 0800 to escort you."

* * *

"_Did Vader ever tell you about Hoth and what happened afterwards?" _

"_What happened afterwards? No…"_

"_We'll fill you in later. Things will make more sense then."_


	8. Chapter 8

_A couple of mornings after I arrived back on Coruscant,_ Those People _called._

"Hello my dear, we're here on Coruscant on order business and called to see if you're free for lunch or dinner," Amera breezily said as if nothing had happened before. She continued, "There's a place right between the Senate District and the Verity District called The Spira Palm. It doesn't look extremely expensive, yet has very good ratings. It's also not too terribly far from you. Would you like to meet for lunch? 11:30ish?"

Lyra was relieved to have the ice broken after her blow-up. "Let's see, that's in an hour, yes, I can meet you there. Go ahead and get a table, and I'll meet you."

An hour later, Lyra was ushered to a corner of an open and pleasant restaurant divided into sections by groupings of large, potted Spiran palms. Out in the open for all to see, yet difficult for anyone to sit nearby and overhear. The order must have scouted the place out ahead of time.

Lyra slid into the semi-circular booth by her mother. "Ladies, you look nice. Why?"

"Is it not enough that we just want to look nice and have a pleasant outing and see you?" Amera asked.

"No."

"My dear," Amera said getting down to business and pulling a data pad out of her bag. "Do you look for mentions of yourself on the holo net?"

"No. I'm very careful with what I look at in case I'm monitored."

"Well, we do," Jael said motioning toward the pad.

"Read this," Amera said, handing the pad to Lyra.

"Let's see, _The Conversationist, _not quite two years ago. Isn't this a gossip column?"

"A high society publication, but yes, essentially a gossip column. Read on."

"'Ever since she first appeared by Lord Vader's side at the Emperor's Ball, all of polite society has wondered exactly who Lady Vader is. While we would never want to invade her ladyship's privacy, it's only natural that people would be curious about such an elegant and beautiful woman by the side of the empire's second-in-command.'"

Lyra burst out laughing. "That's laying it on thick."

"The order members that we planted in the crowd said that you always look very nice." Amera smiled.

"Thanks." Of course there were order members in the crowd. Lyra turned back to the article. "'A tidbit has come our way that we thought we'd share with you, our well-heeled reader. According to someone who encountered her in the ladies room near the Palace ballroom, Lady Vader is indeed married to his lordship. Our source said that her ladyship was very pleasant and very polite. It has been noted that she neither eats nor drinks at palace affairs while she's by Lord Vader's side, perhaps out of courtesy to him, although she's been known to have a sip or two from a passing tray while going to and from the ladies room. All in all, Lady Vader is an elegant figure and is quite an asset to his lordship. We all look forward to seeing her at this year's Imperial Ball.'"

"Good heavens. Could they be more fawning? Interesting how their source left out the part about me telling them the truth about how I got into this situation. I guess that was too controversial to share," Lyra laughed.

"You seem to have impressed people," Amera noted.

"I don't do anything but stand there. It's true, though, that I deliberately don't eat or drink while I'm beside his lordship because he can't eat or drink in public, and I rarely leave his side. I prefer to remain mysterious - and anonymous. I mean, how exactly is Lady Vader supposed to interact with people? How is she supposed to have friends? It's not fitting, shall we say, for Lady Vader to be a socialite or meet with the ladies-who-lunch. It's just not done, and it's not "me" anyway. I prefer to remain anonymous even if it is a bit lonely. By the way, soldiers apparently don't read society columns. Everyone on the _Executor_ seemed shocked that Vader had a wife."

Amera nodded at the data pad, "Read the comments."

Lyra scrolled down to the comments. "Let's see, oh, 'I think I saw her! She was in Dravaad's walking through cosmetics. She had her hair down and was in normal clothes, but I'm pretty sure it was she. I tried not to stare, but I watched as she browsed and then left the store. She seemed pleasant, all in all not out of the norm.'"

"'I saw a woman who looked just like her at Everyday Life, except what would a woman like Lady Vader be doing there?'"

"Buying toothpaste," Lyra noted glancing up.

"Read on," said Amera.

Lyra scanned the comments to find her place. "Oh, here. 'No one knows her first name or her family name. Efforts to find out-' Efforts!" Lyra exclaimed, looking up. Amera smiled and nodded.

Lyra looked back down. "'Efforts to find out her name have been fruitless. If any of the high-end establishments know, they're not telling.'" Lyra sighed and shook her head. "I use my real name since I don't want to go in as Lady Vader. I think the high-end designers pride themselves on their confidentiality since many of their customers don't want their dress choices getting out, and from what I've seen, the designers supply both wives and mistresses."

"Now, look at this." Amera handed Lyra another data pad. "Read that."

"Let's see, this was just a couple of months ago. 'It seems that looking for Lady Vader has become a favorite past-time of several of the upper class in Coruscant. It's like our own version of _Where is ST-30?_ Can you spot Lady Vader in the crowd? It seems our latest sighting was someone who looked like her leaving Jahara's after, we assume, a dress fitting.'"

"Wrong," Lyra said looking up. "Jahara's designs are tacky. I never go there."

"Look at the comment. I'm glad I copied that article because it later disappeared."

Lyra looked down. "Here it is, 'Be careful! You're playing a dangerous game. Leave Lady Vader alone. You don't know what can happen to you.'"

Lyra looked up. "So this article and comment disappeared?" Jael and Amera nodded in unison.

"We don't know who left that comment, but they seem to be someone who's familiar with the goings-on of the court."

"Well, they probably know more than I do. I don't doubt that the court is a dangerous place, I certainly know that! That's one of the many reasons why I don't socialize there. I understand people being curious, but really, all this is creepy. It makes me want to stay home a bit more."

"You called Vader's palace 'home.'"

Lyra sat back in the booth. "I suppose it is. Nothing bad has happened to me there, and I can do pretty much whatever I want, and I've made my quarters rather nice, so yeah, for now it's home."

Jael and Amera nodded. "You have assessed the situation correctly and conduct yourself quite well," said Jael.

"Wow, praise. Thank you. I even go so far as to try to look different in my normal day-to-day life, hoping that no one recognizes me from court. When I'm at court, I'm always dressed up and have my hair up. When I go out on my own, I wear my hair down and wear normal clothes. It just helps me to feel anonymous."

"So you're not comfortable in your role?"

"I don't know if comfortable is the right word. It's just easier if Lady Vader is as remote and mysterious as Lord Vader."

Jael actually smiled at this. "Excellent. Now, how do you interact with _him_ himself?"

Lyra hesitated and glanced around. "Fine actually," she said lowering her voice. "I'm very respectful, and I basically speak only when spoken to. I am very aware that he is very dangerous. Conversation comes a little easier now, although I always let him instigate it. We both like to walk along the promenade near the top of his palace, and apparently no surveillance can pick up our conversation there since he's always been a bit more open out there. I'm very careful, though, not to overstep my bounds. I'm always aware of who he is."

"Have you had sex yet?" Jael asked.

"Good heavens." Lyra blushed. "No," she said even more softly. "I don't know if he can, although…" Lyra paused for a moment and related how Vader had asked her to remove her clothes.

"Well, if he demands it, you will obey of course. Your place is to serve him, and providing pleasure and gratification to him will be an essential part of that. You weren't trained in our sexual arts, but we can give you information on how to handle yourself, and him. Remember, you can gain a lot of sexual satisfaction in an attitude and position of submission. So, you won't just be giving, but will be getting too," Jael stated.

"Sorry ladies, if I do sleep with him, you're not going to get a detailed report."

"My dear, your grandmother and I know much, much more about the art of sex than you can imagine. We can be a great asset to you." Lyra moaned and dropped her head into her hands. Jael doing the deed: the stuff of nightmares.

"It's interesting that he hasn't had sex with you yet. What does he expect or demand from you? He's supporting you, so he must expect something in return."

"I've thought a lot about this," Lyra said. "I think that he thinks that he's the one who is doing something in return for what was done for him. Does that make sense? Jinn found him, took him before the Jedi Council and insisted that he train Vader as a Jedi. He clearly idolizes Jinn. I think that he's paying him back in the only way that he can, and that's to do what he can for Jinn's daughter. He basically said that's why he rescued me from Prince Xixor. Now, as to marriage and all," Lyra paused for a moment and thought, "I think he has a need for companionship even if he doesn't admit it to himself. I do know that at court, he no longer stands by himself while the other officials have their spouses. He has a woman to stand by him too. Does he consciously realize this, I don't know. But I think his subconscious does."

"Wait," Amera commanded, "go back to the part about taking him before the Jedi Council.'"

Lyra leaned in and lowered her voice. "Yes, _he_ was the child Jinn wanted to train."

"So the child did survive," Jael noted, "but rumors are that V-, _he_, hates the Jedi."

"Really? I know nothing about that other than you had better not mention the Jedi at court."

Jael and Amera looked at each other for a moment.

"What?" Lyra asked.

"We're just thinking of, uh, _friends_, we've helped in the past, if you understand what I mean. The less said the better." Amera glanced around the restaurant as she said this.

"Of course," Lyra agreed.

"My dear," Amera said leaning closer, "What does he look like, under the mask?"

Lyra said, lowered her voice. "He appears to be a burn victim. He's got heavy scaring, even over his scalp, so he has no hair. Interestingly, his features are for the most part undamaged. I think he's mid-30s to mid-40's; it's hard to tell. He also doesn't have any of his lower arms or legs. They're all prosthetics. What is there, though, is very muscular. The mask and suit help him to breath, so he's got some lung damage. He can only breathe without the suit while he's in his quarters, which are pressurized so he can breathe. Anyone else has to wear a special mask so they can breathe. It's very lightweight; not too bad."

"And his penis?"

"Good heavens Mother! Is nothing sacred?"

"No."

Lyra threw her hands up. "Oh my gosh, yes, I've seen it; it's there, it's all there." Lyra then relayed what occurred on the _Executor_.

"I really don't know what to do. What if he can't, you know. I don't want to broach the subject just to have him admit that he can't. I'm just going to leave it alone and let him take the initiative."

"Could you have sex with him?"

Lyra thought. "What choice would I have, but would he force the issue? He's been very respectful so far. But could I given how there's always fear in the back of my mind, if not in the front?"

"All the more reason why you should have been trained as a priestess. Your mother and I would know what to do. I know, I know…" Jael raised a hand and backed off.

"Well Grandmother, maybe I should tell him _you_ have the hots for him."

"Child, I would wear out what's left of him."

* * *

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to strolling through a street market and a couple of parks. Surprisingly, Jael and Amera bought quite a bit at the market: fabric, exotic foods, spices, and "artifacts," so Lyra summoned L-PO to find them in the market and carry their purchases. That the priestesses clearly enjoyed, although Lyra cautioned them to watch what they say since L-PO was most certainly a spy.

Lyra knew they presented quite the picture as they shopped: one woman in tan cotton pants, an ivory silk wrap top, and an expensive handbag, the other two in shapeless brown and grey robes, one with a bone in her hair. Oh well.

The group ended up at the Imperial Plaza, where Lyra pointed out Vader's palace on one end. It was understood and therefore not spoken that having guests in the palace was not the thing to do. Towards evening, Lyra checked in with Vanee, and since no one, as in his lordship, was needing her, she treated Jael and Amera to dinner at one of the sector's nicer restaurants.

After leaving L-PO in the droid check area, the three settled down in their booth and ordered Coruscanti Sunsets, sweet cocktails that start off bright orange and yellow and turn to navy over time. Sipping her drink, Lyra remembered what she had meant to relay to the ladies earlier. She glanced around to see if anyone was noticeably listening in.

"The reason why, um, you know, _he _called me to his pressurized quarters in the first place was to discuss Shelantu Das and her interest in the Krath. He told me that the Krath was aligned with the Sith, and that Das, I know this is outrageous, probably became a devotee of the Krath and therefore turned to the dark side. _He_ said the Kir Zelah is descended from a dark order, and it's teachings have a dark influence. I know, I know, ridiculous."

Instead of the outburst Lyra had anticipated, Jael and Amera exchanged a knowing look. Jael set her drink down and leaned forward. "Das did fall to the dark side. Several years after establishing our order, she began taking secretive trips to Cinnagar. It was during these trips that she started talking about utilizing dark emotions, but without a light side balance. We think that she was visiting Krath temples during this time and learning more about Krath dark teachings. After one of these trips, her acolyte sensed something off with her, a darkness coming from her. He was alarmed enough to report this to the other elders. After meeting with her, they all agreed, and when she announced that the order was fully embracing the dark side, they refused. She attacked the group with her lightsaber, but during the fight, someone managed to shoot her. So, any dark influence died with Das." At this, Jael sat back in the booth.

Stunned, Lyra looked from one to the other. "Who knows about this in the order? This isn't common knowledge, is it?"

"Oh no," Amera noted. "It's been the policy down through the years that the top ranks of the order are told but are sworn to secrecy. This is to prevent us from being caught unaware if the truth is uncovered, like potentially with that scholar a while back, but also to help us watch out for any dark influences creeping in. This is the real reason why the head priestess always wears this bone," Amera indicated Das' small finger bone entwined in her hair, "as a reminder of what happened and a warning to always be on the lookout for dark influences."

"Why don't you make a pendant out of it? Too normal of a thing to do?"

Amera smiled. "Wearing it in our hair keeps us humble since pride is one of the emotions that can lead to the dark side."

Lyra looked at Jael. "Remember, I had hair back then," Jael noted. Lyra nodded, remembering back when her grandmother badly needed a good stylist.

Lyra fiddled with the stem of her glass and pondered this new knowledge. "_He_ flat out asked me what would I choose, light or dark. It scared me half to death, but I looked right at him and said that I would choose the light."

Jael and Amera raised their eyes in one synchronized motion. (_Seriously, do they practice?_) "Oh my," Amera expressed. They both stared at Lyra, speechless.

_They're actually at a loss for words! Points for me!_

Lyra smiled slightly. "Well, I'm clearly still here. He didn't comment and dismissed me right after that. Something, though, "impressed" him" Lyra noted make quote marks with her fingers. "He didn't bring it up again the rest of the trip."

"Are you going to tell _him_ about Das?" Amera asked.

"And give him the satisfaction of being right? Shoot no!"

With this, all three burst out laughing. Shortly thereafter, their entrees arrived, and the conversation turned to order politics mixed in with exclamations of how amazing the braised chollas filets were. After dinner, Lyra summoned one of the palace's speeders and took the women back to the order's Coruscant quarters in the Fobosi district near the university. Jael and Amera didn't say anything, but they were clearly impressed with the luxury of the speeder.

At the order's ancient stone building perched atop even older partial ruins, stone spires soaring, Amera hugged Lyra, which was rare, and whispered in her ear, "We're under constant surveillance here, aren't we?"

"Around here, always assume so," Lyra responded.

* * *

The next evening, Lyra walked along the promenade, not expecting Vader to be there, yet there he was.

"You saw your grandmother and mother yesterday." Of course he knew.

"Yes my lord. They were well-behaved and presentable. Clearly up to something."

"You said that the order does not interfere with the Empire's business."

"Oh no, my lord, they don't. Whatever mayhem they're plotting doesn't won't affect the Empire. It _will_ irritate me, though…. as usual."

"What did they say?"

"Oh, they showed me a ridiculous write-up about me in a gossip column, that was about all."

"_The Conversationist_."

"You know about that? I must be the only one who didn't know. Well, I have no interest in high-society."

"No," was all he said.

That evening, while getting ready for bed, Lyra turned to the Imperial HoloVision to quickly catch up on the day's news. In between stories of the Empire's glorious victories in the war with the Rebellion was a brief mention of an explosion on Negus 9 that allowed a large group of prisoners to escape. Efforts to capture them were delayed by further sabotage on several Imperial vehicles.


	9. Chapter 9

"Attention, attention. This is a fire alert for section AA. Evacuate the building. Repeat, this is a fire alert for section AA. Evacuate the building."

Section AA! That covered the top floors of the building including her floor and Vader's. Despite the awful racket from the alarms, Lyra didn't smell smoke, so she paused a moment to throw on some clothes, slid her feet into a pair of flats, grabbed her purse, and was out the door. Still no smoke, which was good, but still best to evacuate. Lyra ran past the lift to the emergency stairwell and ran down eight floors and out to a small landing pad.

"What's going on?" she demanded of the protocol droid standing there.

"My lady, a large steam pipe near the top floor has burst, and the heat has caused the sprinkler system to engage as if there's a fire, flooding several floors."

"Where is Vanee? Is he handling this?"

"My lady, Vanee is out of the building at this time. His Lordship is also away."

"So that leaves me. Well, I've actually had experience with a situation like this."

_All that wonderful water, flowing into the cracks and crevices, shorting out the wiring. Flowing and flowing and flowing…"_

Lyra's comm unit chimed. It was the top security officer on duty for that shift. "My lady, I'll summon maintenance and have this taken care of quickly."

"That's all right. I've got this under control. I've been through a situation like this before; I know exactly what to do."

"But my lady…" sputtered the officer.

"Thank you lieutenant, just let in the plumbers and cleaners in when they arrive. Thank you! I must run now." Lyra cut the connection. Within minutes, Lyra had spoken to a plumbing company, who promised to rush right over bringing a clean up crew with them. Before they arrived though, Lyra waited a few more minutes, then moved over to the protocol droid.

"Please have the water shut off at the main valve."

"Yes my lady," the droid replied, then contacted others to shut off the water.

Of course, all of the electrical and system wiring would have to be replaced and soon before anyone else could show up, so Lyra contacted the emergency line for a large systems company and noted that she would make it worth their while if they arrived at "a very important person's home" as soon as possible. And they did early that morning. Lyra set them to work installing Emperor-surveillance-free wiring.

"My lady," Vanee said rushing up to her that morning in the main reception area. "Please forgive me, I was away."

"Vanee, it's all right to have a night off. I've got this under control. The plumbers and the clean up crew are taking care of things."

"Ma'am, all this has to go," a worker called, indicating the wiring behind a panel that he had pulled out of the wall.

"Do whatever you have to," Lyra said, secretly ecstatic.

"My lady, there are people on the Emperor's staff who should handle this," Vanee urged.

"Oh, that's all right. I called one of the best companies in the sector. They'll have things put together soon. Excuse me." Lyra walked away from Vanee, still sputtering over using someone outside of the palace staff.

A few hours later, Vader arrived to find the entire floor of his private quarters torn up with giant fans blowing to dry out the walls and flooring while workers installed new wiring. Several workers jumped in fright as he strode past them into his medical area. There too, giant fans blew while cleaner droids swept up chunks of ceiling and insulation. A man standing by Lyra was gesturing towards the machinery of his medical system.

"Sure, we can replace all of this, but it looks like someone took a sledge hammer to it."

"Flood damage," Lyra smiled.

"Really? I don't know…"

"Damage. From the flood. Flood damage."

The technician paused and nervously looked at Vader and back to Lyra. "Looks like flood damage to me."

"Water can be very destructive," Lyra noted, smiling. "Let's replace it all, if you agree, my lord," she said, turning to Vader.

Vader put his hands on his hips and shook his head, looking around. "I'll be on the command ship while this is cleaned up." With that, he marched off and returned to the _Executor_.

* * *

"_And that is how my lord gained an up-to-date medical system that provided greater comfort while also enjoying not having the Emperor's surveillance system in place."_

"_Did he say anything about all those people being in his quarters?"_

"_Nope. It was such a mess with the water damage and the re-wiring that there was no way around having people in there. Plus, he didn't have to show up if he didn't want to be seen."_

* * *

"The contractor has replaced all of the electrical and computer wiring, my lord. I paid them a large bonus to do so quickly, and they earned it. I'm afraid I steam-rolled, pardon the pun, over Vanee, lady of the house and all, but I saw the chance to get rid of the surveillance system and took advantage of it. Of course, I'm afraid we can't use that company again. I'm sure they're already on the Emperor's payroll."

"Yes." Vader looked out over the city from the promenade. A couple of moments later, he noted, "The new equipment in my quarters is much more satisfactory and quiet than the old."

"I paid a generous bonus to that company on the condition that there are no records of the purchase and reminded them of the strict Imperial privacy laws concerning health information. If the Emperor does find out that you have new equipment, we can just note the burst pipe and damage."

Just then, Vader's com unit chimed. "The report on the Tellus 6 riots has arrived, my lord."

"Very well." Vader briefly placed his hand on Lyra's shoulder as he moved past her and back in the building. _"High praise indeed," she thought, thoroughly pleased with herself._

* * *

_Joy, pure unadulterated joy._

_"Mom! You're here!"_

_"I'm here to take charge of this household, Ani." Shmi moved past him in the hanger bay on Mustafar, not stopping to comment on his suit and mask. "I'll have a look around. I'm sure your room is a complete disaster."_

_"My lord," a voice said behind him. Vader whirled around to find Lyra standing there, completely naked except for the oven mitts._

_"Tart?" she asked, holding out a dish of apple tart, hot from the oven._

_Vader sat down at one end of the table in his mother's kitchen on Tatooine. Lyra stood at the other end dishing out plates of her latest delicacy. She passed plates down to Shmi, Qui Gon, Obi Wan, Luke Skywalker, and Leia Organa._

_Organa? Why her? Why is she of all people always in this dream? And why is Lyra still naked?_

As usual, Vader awakened at this point and growled in sexual frustration.


	10. Chapter 10

Note: PG-13

* * *

_Welcome again our Dear Readers! We had quite the Fete Week, didn't we? We here at The Conversationist absolutely love Fete Weeks, particularly the Festival of the Stars, and this year's festival got off to a "booming" start, pardon the pun, with the arrival in the Coruscant skies of the Empire's new line of mid-size destroyers. The Emperor himself led the crowds in inspecting this top-of-the-line destroyer, and we hear that a select group of wives of the Emperor's staff were rewarded with a special tour. Our spies on the ground at the airfield report that certain wives weren't quite as impressed as they should have been and were a bit less than gracious. Lady Sky High Hair sighed loudly and complained to all around her how bored she was while Lady That Dress Makes Your Backside Look Big surreptitiously texted her lover the whole time. The only wife who reportedly acted, well, ladylike was one of our favorites here at The Conversationist: Lady Vader. Her Ladyship was reported to be the only wife who showed any interest in the new line of destroyers and was knowledgeable enough to carry on a conversation with Captain Danner Albrem, who was lucky enough to lead the tour. Lady Vader discussed with Captain Albrem the line's performance in hyper-space and even credited her husband with her knowledge. Lady Vader is once again a credit to His Lordship!_

_UPDATE: We here at The Conversationist join everyone in displaying our great relief that the Emperor is safe and sound after today's assassination attempt during the military parade along the Glitannai Esplanade. Yours Truly was actually standing at a vantage point in the plaza outside the Palace and witnessed the barrage of assassin drones. Lord Vader was truly remarkable as he leapt into the line of fire and with his laser sword, deflected the bolts away from the Emperor and destroyed every last drone. Of course, we here at The Conversationist were most impressed by Lord Vader's gallantry when he shoved Lady Vader down and behind him and stood over her to protect her from the laser blasts. We have found a new romantic hero in Lord Vader!_

Courtiers mingled about the ballroom rehashing the day's events. There was an air of forced gaiety mixed with relief aided by a generous dose of alcohol.

_Who could have done this?_

_Are the rebels really that brazen?_

_And Lord Vader! _

_We've all heard the rumors, but my goodness! His skills with his laser sword!_

_I wonder about his other "sword." Giggles._

Three people were positioned at the head of the room, surveying it silently. Lyra, still shaken and with one aching, skinned knee stood tall and did her best to look, well, unshaken, holding her clutch in her hands and openly displaying her torn gown and scraped arms. Vader stood with his hands hooked on his belt, inscrutable as ever. Palpatine sat a few feet away on his throne, sunken down and clearly in a mood.

Attendees gathered in groups, whispering and throwing glances of admiration at Vader. No longer the object of fear and morbid curiosity, Vader was now the poster boy of the select.

One brave couple approached. Grand Moff Ceth Werjah bowed to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, we are all so relieved to see you safe." Before Palpatine could respond, Werjah turned to Vader.

"My Lord, you were magnificent today. Most impressive. The Emperor is very lucky to have you," he gushed.

Vader stared at Werjah for one moment. Lyra wondered if he didn't know how to respond. Right before she could, Vader replied, "Protecting the Emperor is my duty. That is all."

Clearly dismissed, Werjah and his wife bowed slightly, and with smiles and "yes, of course," moved off. Lyra smiled and nodded as they moved past.

Several more interactions like this, and Lyra could feel the tension flowing from Palpatine. _Time to go._ Vader apparently had the same thought. Turning to Lyra, he gestured towards the door, but before he could speak, yet another guest appeared to pay tribute.

"Your Majesty," General Ay exclaimed, "we're all very glad to see you safe, and Lord Vader, we're all very impressed with your skills today. We're very grateful you protected our Emperor," he nodded towards Palpatine, "and your beautiful wife! I hope you weren't badly hurt, my dear," the guest said, looking Lyra's arms.

"Yes, his beautiful wife," said the Emperor, folding his hands on his stomach and smirking. "Pity he can't put her to good use, now can he?" With that, Palpatine cackled.

General Ay noticeably flinched while someone nearby gasped. Lyra was mortified and turned bright red. Vader displayed no reaction, at least what anyone could see.

"Yes, well," General Ay said, quickly recovering, "well done, your lordship. Your Majesty, good evening." Smiling and nodding towards Lyra, General Ay moved off.

Fortunately, at that, Palpatine rose from his throne and stalked off down the center of the room, the crowd parting and bowing as he passed.

Saying not a word, Vader turned and motioned Lyra towards a side door, steering her ahead of him with his hand resting lightly on the small of her back.

* * *

_One skinned knee, one torn dress, and I didn't even get to explore the crafts booths at the Fair._

"My lord," Lyra said, turning to Vader in the shuttle, "I saw the Emperor's face. I don't think he was pleased when you shoved me out of the way. It's probably best if I keep a low profile for a while_._

Vader and Lyra sat in silence during the short shuttle ride back to Vader's palace. Lyra debated saying anything. Remembering a teacher's advice that everyone has feelings, Lyra debated what to say. Looking straight ahead, she noted, "The Emperor was wrong with what he said tonight. He made himself look very bad."

"The Emperor will be pleased when I find the rebels who staged the attack."

"_Humph_. If he didn't plan it himself to gain sympathy," she said, softly and mostly to herself while she examined the tear in her dress.

Vader turned to look at Lyra for a moment and then looked away, but didn't reply.

They rode on in silence. Lyra stared out of the shuttle window and relived the shock of suddenly being shoved back and down, and then the sight of Vader standing over her fighting off the assassin droids. The droids were aiming at the Emperor sitting inches away, but it was clear that Vader was protecting her too. This resulted in a most unexpected feeling: arousal.

"Your breathing has deepened audibly."

Perhaps her desire made her bold. "My lord, on the _Executor,_ when we discussed Shelantu Das, you were...aroused."

At that moment, the shuttle docked in the landing bay, and the door opened. "Come," Vader commanded. Lyra moved after him into the turbo lift. Entering his quarters, Vader sat in his large medical chair and activated the arms that disassembled his helmet and mask.

"Remove your clothing."

Lyra stepped out of her heels, unzipped her dress and quickly removed her panties and bra. Lyra turned to face Vader.

"Such loveliness should not be covered up," Vader said, repeating what he had told her...was it really that long ago?

Vader continued to gaze at Lyra. Lyra for her part, wondered how exactly was someone supposed to stand while butt naked.

Right then, the comm unit chimed. "Lord Vader, there is an attack on the munitions complex on Corellia. The Emperor commands you to go there at once."

Vader actually growled in frustration. "Tell Piett we'll leave as soon as I'm on board."

Not waiting to be dismissed, Lyra gather her clothes and bowed her head towards Vader. "My lord," she said and departed. Right outside the first blast door, Lyra quickly dressed and made her way to her quarters.

_Highly frustrated, but at least the ice has been broken. Will I regret it later?_

"_I didn't find out until later that the very next day, the Emperor took the Olarian grain monopoly away from Moff Werjah, one of the officials who complemented Vader after the assassin drone attack. The Emperor giveth and the Emperor taketh away."_

* * *

"_A couple of weeks later, the Emperor was apparently in a much better mood given Vader's successfully repelling the rebel attack on Corellia. I received a secret summons to the Palace. For saving the Emperor's life and defeating the assassination droids plus saving the Corellian munitions complex, the Emperor was going to have a surprise award ceremony. Since his display at the ceremony, Vader's esteem in the public's eye was sky high, which worried me. The Emperor was a jealous master. Like at the Fete reception, would he use this ceremony to knock Vader down a peg or two? Speaking of Vader, I had not seen him since our encounter the evening of the droid attack. L-PO said that he had not immediately returned to Coruscant."_

Lyra arrived at the Emperor's office at the appointed hour, which was actually an hour before the ceremony. Hmmm.

"Lady Vader, so nice to see you," the Emperor said, wobbling forward with the help of his cane. How did he manage to walk with a cane and look like he was gliding at the same time?

"Your Majesty," Lyra said, bowing deeply. Thank goodness for a high neckline. "His Lordship will be very pleased with your recognition."

"Yes, well he's earned it. Come out to my garden. I've been cultivating a new type of Nabooian dusk rose."

Lyra and Palpatine slowly walked along the garden walkway. "How are you and Lord Vader getting along?" Palpatine said, turning to look at Lyra.

"Fine, your Majesty. Actually, I don't see him very often."

"Yes, Lord Vader is away a great deal of the time. Does he ever discuss his missions with you?"

"Not really, and when he does, it's only in the broadest, most general of terms since I have no security clearance."

"And your mother and grandmother, what are their Force talents?"

_So he's aware of my mother and grandmother._

"Force talents, your majesty?"

"Are they able to manifest the Force in certain ways? Many Force users have unique talents."

_Which are very dangerous to show during these times!_

"No, your majesty. They're just philosophers. They just like to talk _ad nauseum_ about the Force. I guess that's their Force talent: boring people. They excel at that."

Palpatine actually cackled at that.

"And you don't manifest the Force at all. Interesting. Has Lord Vader ever expressed an interest in being Emperor?" Palpatine said, switching topics suddenly.

"Oh, well," Lyra stammered, trying not to show her shock, "only to say that he's currently considered your successor, your majesty."

"Yes, Lord Vader would succeed me, particularly if he struck me down."

Lyra stopped walking and faced the Emperor. "Your majesty, Lord Vader has expressed only the utmost loyalty to you. Plus, only a fool would try to kill you, and Lord Vader is no fool."

"Yes, yes," Palpatine grinned his maniacal grin, "of course." They moved on down the walkway.

"What about you? Would you not want to be Empress?"

Lyra laughed. "Oh heavens no, your majesty. Empress is the last thing I'd want to be. That is not one of my desires."

Lyra and Palpatine moved further down the walkway. "Here," he indicated. "These arrived a couple of weeks ago from Naboo. I tend to them myself. They seem to be doing well."

Lyra moved to inspect a rich, pink bloom. "Oh your majesty," Lyra said sincerely, "these roses are beautiful! Are they hard to care for?"

"Not really as long as they have the right amount of water and plenty of sun. Do you garden?"

"I have in the past. How well I do depends more on the hardiness of the plant than my talent, I think."

Palpatine smiled. "Yes, yes. Well, perhaps we should be getting back. I must prepare for the ceremony. Lord Vader has earned his reward, no doubt, and yes, he would reign after me. Although," he said pausing to look at Lyra, "in some ways he'll always be just a poor slave boy from Tatooine."

A stunned Lyra stood while Palpatine moved off. _What?_

An hour later, Palpatine stood on the dias in front of the large crowd assembled in the cavernous reception room. At his direction, the crowd fell silent and the doors opened revealing Vader on the other side. Vader moved forward, hesitating slightly when he saw the crowd.

"Lord Vader, come forward. You have once again proven to be a true friend to me."

As Vader moved down the aisle, Lyra stepped forward, smiling slightly. Vader turned his head to the left, apparently seeing her. Vader stopped before the Emperor and kneeled.

"My friend, you have done exceedingly well, and for your service, I award you the Imperial Medal of Honor." The Emperor placed the large medal around Vader's neck.

"Arise, my friend." As Vader rose, the audience broke out in applause and cheers.

* * *

Back in the shuttle….

Silence.

"While the Emperor was showing me his Nabooan roses, he very casually asked if you have ever expressed any interest in being Emperor. I said truthfully that you have expressed to me only loyalty to him."

"Not quite the same thing."

"No. He asked if I wanted to be empress," Lyra said. "I couldn't help but laugh. I told him that I definitely did _not_ want to be empress; that is not one of my desires."

Silence, then...

"What do you desire?"

Lyra didn't hesitate. "Trees, flowers, birds, sunshine...friends."

"Friends."

"Yes, well, Lady Vader does not have friends, or socialize. We both know that. It's just the way it is."

A few minutes later, "There could come a time when you are Empress, at my side."

"Yes my lord," Lyra said, thinking about Palpatine's snide remark about Vader being a poor slave boy.

An hour later, Vader summoned Lyra to his quarters. The purpose was understood. Lyra paused to channel her focus.

_Be an adult. As Jael said, there can be great sexual satisfaction from submission (not like you have any other option here), so use it. Focus on your calmness and your feminine softness. Channel your obedience. Yield to your lord and master. You are in this time and place to serve him. Blah, blah, whatever._

Entering his private area, Lyra moved to the center are where Vader stood naked, his back to her while he entered commands at one of the consoles. His lower arms and legs were still attached, and while the rest of his skin was covered in scar tissue, it was not repulsive. After a moment, Vader turned to her. Lyra said nothing, but removed her silk robe and lay it over the back of a chair close by. Vader moved to her and putting his hands on her upper arms, slowly backed Lyra a few feet to the bed. He seated her on the edge and lightly pushed her down. Vader raised her legs and spread them wide. Vader then fell to his knees, and Lyra arched her back in exhilaration.

Afterwards, Vader fell onto the bed beside her. Lyra lay still and let the feelings linger. After a few minutes, Lyra decided that she shouldn't overstay her welcome and moved to get up.

"Stay," Vader said.

"Yes my lord." Lyra looked around, "May I use your–"

"Yes, over there," he gestured.

Lyra made use of Vader bathroom (black marble) and moved back over to the bed. Feeling a bit awkward, Lyra slid in under the covers.

"Lights," Vader said, and the room went dark. All was quiet except for the sound of Vader's breathing system. How does he sleep with that racket? Lyra turned on side with her back to Vader and tried not to move much. Surprisingly, Lyra fell asleep.

"Off," Vader commanded the morning alarm. Lyra pushed her hair out of her face and turning on her back, pulled the sheets up over her breasts.

"He's my son," Vader said.

"Who, my lord?"

"Skywalker."

"Oh," Lyra paused. "And his mother?"

"My wife, my first wife."

Lyra turned over to look at Vader. "Is she still alive, my lord?"

Vader sighed. "No," he said, and rising suddenly, moved towards the bathroom.

_Huh. _

Right then, the com link buzzed and Vanee's voice broke in. "My lord," he sounded harried. "Forgive the intrusion, but the palace is on high alert. My lord, her ladyship is nowhere to be found. We're analyzing the security camera footage, and security teams–"

"She's here with me."

Vanee paused. "My lord?"

"She's here with me."

"Oh...thank you my lord," Vanee said with obvious relief. "I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion."

Lyra got out of bed and immediately found her robe. "What was that about?"

"Apparently your protocol droid could not find you this morning and alerted Vanee. The palace is on high alert."

"Oh no, I didn't even think… I'll find Vanee and apologize."

Vader said nothing and turned to enter the bathroom. Lyra took that as a signal to go, which she did.

Now fully awake and in the light of day, reality set in.

_So, there was someone else._

_Huh. I'm not sure what I think about that. _

_At least I had the presence of mind to check with the medical droid and make sure I wasn't fertile._

Vanee was very gracious in accepting Lyra's heartfelt apologies. He, of course, never asked what had occurred, and Lyra, of course, never said.

Vader did not summon her the next night or the night after.

* * *

"_So Vader never said anything more about his late wife?"_

"_No, and I didn't feel comfortable bringing it up. He would have said more if he were comfortable with the topic, but he didn't, so I didn't."_

"_The comment that the Emperor made about Vader being a slave boy from Tatooine, did that ever come up?"_

"_No, and another thing that I was not going to mention. Over time, yeah, I had wondered about Vader's past: where he grew up, his parents, any siblings, etc., but I most certainly was not going to pry. His sensitivity about the slaves going to Negus 9 now, though, made sense."_


	11. Chapter 11

_Welcome Dear Readers! Wasn't that a wonderful reception at the Palace last night! We here at _The Conversationist _saw all of you, and didn't you look fabulous! Our favorite, Lady Vader was there, of course, as Lord Vader received his latest well-earned award. Her ladyship caught many admiring glances in her dark navy sheath dress with off the shoulder cap sleeves. And those diamond and sapphire earrings that accentuated her lovely updo and smooth neck. Simple and elegant. Stunning! (Note to Lady Vader: we'd love to see you in jewel tones.) Now, Dear Reader, sit close. This is just between you and me since we really don't like to gossip. Someone very high up, very senior (__very__ senior) appeared with his latest mistress. The poor dear was laboring under the assumption that more is, well, more. More colors, more shine, more jangling things hanging on her dress making quite the racket. More loud laughter and loud remarks. Well, I can tell you that when Lady Vader approached Very Senior and Poor Dear on Very Senior's dias, Poor Dear's face fell in the presence of such elegance. Our Lady Vader, though, saved the day by kindly telling Poor Dear how lovely her dress was. Poor Dear's smile could be seen from the weather control satellites orbiting the planet. Now if we can just get Poor Dear to a dentist._

* * *

A few days later, Lyra received a special summons from Vanee.

"My lady, are you free to come to the main hangar bay? Something has arrived for you."

"For me? What in the galaxy? Yes, I'm on my way."

Lyra made her way down to the hanger bay, totally at a loss for what could be there for her. But when she stepped out of the lift, there it was.

_Oh. My._

"My lady, for you. This is a custom XM-8 his lordship had Narglatch AirTech build just for you."

Beautiful curves, polished black exterior, tan voltek leather interior, two-seater with a storage compartment behind the seats, roomy trunk, hardtop with retractable atmosphere window - and look at those cup holders.

Lyra clasped her hands together under her chin in wonder. "I'm in love."

* * *

"_So you developed feelings for Vader then."_

_Lyra laughed. "Actually, I was talking about the speeder. That thing is nice enough to live in. Feelings for Vader? At this point, I don't know. Still respect, obedience, a bit of fear. Was something else was stirring? Maybe. I don't know. I couldn't thank him in person because he was away on business for quite a while."_

* * *

A couple of weeks later, Vanee appeared. "My lady," he said, "Lord Vader has asked me to share with you all of his financial arrangements and accounts and all of the access codes."

* * *

"_Wow. That's huge. Did Vader ever say anything?"_

"_Nope. Vanee shared everything with me. So, not only did I have access to everything, but I found that my name had been added as co-owner to the major accounts. I could be wrong, but I think there were some financial things, like gifts of revenue from the Emperor, that didn't have my name on them, but they fed into accounts that did have my name. So, yeah. I felt honored, but I was very careful not to abuse his lordship's trust. I still used only my allowance, which was still deposited each month."_

"_Did you and Vader ever talk about having children?"_

"_No, never. I didn't feel comfortable bringing it up, and he never said anything. I think it's for the best for many reasons: being Darth Vader's child would be a terrible burden, I would have to raise the child mostly on my own, and children have a way of rebelling. I used to laugh to myself that any child of Darth Vader's would end up a flute playing, millaflower smoking pacifist devotee of the love goddess Tura, just to get on his nerves."_

* * *

A few days later, another gift arrived for Lyra. Cautious yet excited, Lyra had L-PO take the pot up to the promenade.

"Here. No wait, over there. Yes, it will definitely get almost a full day's sun there. These will be beautiful!"

While instructing L-PO, Lyra had not heard Vader come up behind her.

"Oh, my lord! Excuse me, I didn't hear you. The Emperor sent over one of the roses he just got in from Naboo. I hope I can tend to them well. Oh, I accidentally crushed the listening device that was down in the soil. No, over there! By the wall. Yes, there… no wait. Yes. Keep it there."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find the best spot. These thrive only in the light."

"Is that a remark about the dark side of the Force?"

Lyra had the exact same thought that he did right at the same moment. "No my lord," she said, smiling sweetly. "I'm talking about photosynthesis. Growth happens only in the light when the plant harnesses the light's energy." Take that.

Vader said nothing and walked away.

"Okay, turn the pot a quarter turn. Good!"

* * *

Vader stood in the breeze, looking out over the city, deep in thought and half hearing Lyra in the background instructing her droid. The lift doors opened suddenly, and an aide rushed over.

"My lord, you asked to be notified if our surveillance picked up any mention of this name."

Vader looked down at the information the man offered and smiled to himself. Finally! This was it; he was certain.

Lyra had paused and was watching. Vader looked over at her. "Come," he commanded and strode off.

Vader and Lyra rode the lift down to the landing bay. Vader, of course, offered no explanation. When Lyra saw that they were heading towards his shuttle, she veered off to the right and ran over to a cabinet. Reaching in, she grabbed a black backpack that she had stored there a few months earlier. It pays to be prepared when dealing with a Dark Lord. Would they be gone a few minutes or a few weeks? Lyra had filled the backpack with a couple of changes of clothing, a datapad, snacks, and a complete set of toiletries. A twin sat in the back of her closet in her quarters. Not bothering to close the cabinet door, Lyra hurried over to the shuttle just as Vader was entering. She strapped in beside him, and they were off.

On board the _Executor_, Lyra followed Vader to the bridge, well aware that she was in her everyday clothes and not in her all-black Lady Vader uniform. She nodded to a few of the officers that she had met before.

_Oh look, Piett's an admiral now. Good for him!_

Vader moved to a console and commanded the officer there to open a comm link. Lyra was startled to hear Xixor on the other end protesting the military's firing on his ships.

"I warned you to stay away from Skywalker. You did not heed my advice. Surrender, or I will destroy your skyhook," Vader ordered.

"The Emperor will hear of this! How dare you–"

"The Emperor is not here, and while he is gone, _I _am in command. Surrender or suffer the consequences. You have two minutes." With that, Vader gestured for the communication to be cut.

What would Xixor do? A man of his great pride would not readily surrender. No ships were leaving Xixor's lavish pleasure skyhook as it hovered just inside Coruscant's atmosphere. Would Xixor have time to make it to a ship? Everyone watched the skyhook on the screen and the chronometer. The officers were tense with attention, ready to jump at Vader's command. Lyra was filled in her core with feelings of dread and sickness. The man was vile and a criminal, but did she want him dead? She certainly didn't want to witness any death and destruction.

Five, four, three, two, one.

"Commander, destroy the skyhook."

Lyra watched in shock as Xixor's skyhook was there, then it exploded. All were silent for several seconds as they watched the remains of the skyhook rain down.

"Could he have survived?" Lyra softly asked Piett, standing by her.

"My lady, I don't see how he would have had time to flee, and no ships left the skyhook."

Back in her quarters on Coruscant, Lyra stood in her usual spot, looking out into the dusk. Unlike the attack at the Fete ceremony, Xixor's death did not arouse her in any way. Lyra rested her forehead against the glass and sighed. Xixor more than earned his end, but there was nothing erotic about seeing a structure destroyed and knowing that people died. Here's to hoping Vader didn't summon her anytime soon.


	12. Chapter 12

_Welcome Dear Readers! I'm sure you have been enjoying Coruscant Fashion Week just as much as we have. It certainly has been busy! Can you believe the traffic going in and out of each venue? We got smart this year and availed ourselves of the free party shuttle supplied by the Kasmyra School of Design. The school rented three shuttles, fully supplied them with all sorts of libations, and staffed them with eager students. Brilliant idea! If you have to hover in line waiting to get into a venue, you might as well party, am I right? Plus, the design students got to mix and mingle with important figures in the fashion industry and create valuable contacts. You might remember the Kasmyra School in your donations this year and contribute to a scholarship for a deserving future fashion icon._

_While partaking of some excellent cocktails in the Kasmyra shuttle while waiting to enter the Anasony show, conversation turned to the recent change in fashion trends: after so many years of loud colors, dramatic flourishes, and over-the-topness, understated elegance is now back in style. Finally! And whom do we have to credit for this return to good taste? According to several designers that we chatted with, the top influencer this year is our favorite, Lady Vader! Wherever we look in the finer areas of our fair ecumenopolis, big, loud colors and big, loud hair have given way to dark colors, fine fabrics, and simple elegance. Silhouettes are straight, necklines dip and shoulders are bare but without revealing anything. Hair is smooth and up-swept. Jewelry is simple, understated, and of high quality. Quality: that is the theme of fashion this year, just like Her Ladyship. Refined, elegant, well-mannered, class: quality. Those in the know are emulating the ladylikeness of Lady Vader, long may she reign in fashion!_

_Update: Oh the things disclosed in the ladies' room, particularly after three glasses of champagne! The top designers are notoriously tight-lipped about their patrons, but one let it slip that a certain high ranking spouse, one of our favorites here at _The Conversationist_, insists on paying full price for her gowns. She's practically the only one who does, but, and we'll call her "LV," doesn't want to be seen as throwing around her, or her husband's, considerable social weight. Another reason to admire "LV!"_

* * *

"_Once my mother and grandmother called my attention to _The Conversationist,_ I peeked at it from time to time. The column did like to feature me a bit, which was very strange. Plus, it just added to the pressure that I put on myself to look perfect. Lady Vader must always look perfect, never have a hair out of place, makeup must be subtle and applied well, and she must always act appropriately. That's a lot of pressure for a mere mortal. Oh, that reminds me of the time…"_

Lyra slowly drifted out of sleep and lay in bed for a moment. She stretched and glanced at the clock. 8:50 am.

_What?!_

Lyra was due at the shuttle at 9:00 am to accompany Vader on an inspection tour of a new munitions plant on the other side of Coruscant. Flying out of bed, Lyra rushed into the bathroom and brushed her teeth in record time. After putting eyesight correction drops in her eyes, she called out, "Computer, give me a seven minute timer with a two minute warning!" After using the bathroom, Lyra ran into the closet and threw on a sweater, trouser socks, black pants, and her boots. Running back into the bathroom, Lyra quickly brushed her hair into a low ponytail. She then tried to get on as much of her makeup as she could. When the two minute warning sounded, she was just finishing with a touch of eye liner pencil.

_I hope this is good enough. Lady Vader does not go out with sloppily applied cosmetics or looking unkempt._

Lyra quickly washed her hands and grabbing her jacket, ran into the living room. She set a travel cup into the food dispenser, and while it was filling with caf, she grabbed a container of bottled yogurt from the refrigerator. Stuffing this and her datapad into her bag, Lyra gathered up her jacket, mug, and handbag and was out the door and in the turbolift. Just over a minute to go. She'd probably arrive just as Vader did. If she arrived after, it has better be by mere seconds.

Arriving at the hanger bay, Lyra darted out of the lift and rushed towards the shuttle...where there was no one else about. Correct hanger bay, correct shuttle. The only one we ever use. Just then, a mechanic stepped out of a side room. "My lady, can I help you?"

"I thought Lord Vader was leaving now on an inspection tour. I'm supposed to go with him."

"Oh, my lady, that tour was canceled yesterday. I can try to see why you weren't notified. Would you like me to contact Administrator Vanee?"

_Massive relief._

"No, no. I'll find him. Thanks anyway."

* * *

"_So, apparently there was a problem with the scheduling system. Vanee was very concerned, and even though I wasn't angry, I was alarmed that this could happen again. We saw the entry where Vanee had canceled the outing in the scheduling system, but because of some sort of system error, my calendar was not updated nor was L-PO. So, all that panic and rushing around for nothing, but I did make it to the shuttle in time!_

"_Speaking of scheduling, from time to time, Vanee would notify me when Vader requested that I greet a visiting official. This didn't happen often, but there were times when officials would come to our palace to meet with Vader._ _Over time, I started to see a pattern. It seemed to me if Vader held an official in high esteem, as much as he held anyone in high esteem, when that person was summoned to report to him personally, they were met in a reception area, and I greeted them or Vader would introduce me to them. Others were met in a shuttle bay, and I did not meet them. I did find that sort of amusing: Vader had meetings in a garage! Oh, and when I say reception area, I mean just one more plain, black and chrome room, but high up and with a view of the city. Other than that, it was rather like the garage. My lord was not known for his interior design. _

"My lady, would Lord Vader approve of this? It does not seem like something he would do."

"It's something _I _would do, and he asked me to greet Admiral Thanewulf." Lyra looked over to the lift doors as they opened. "We can just ask him."

"My lord," Lyra said bowing her head as Vader walked over. "May I serve caf and water when Admiral Thanewulf arrives? I think hospitality dictates this," she said, looking pointedly at Vanee.

"Do whatever you think is necessary," Vader replied. Lyra put her hands on her hips and gave Vanee her best "told you so - I win!" look.

"At once, my lady." Vanee bowed and exited.

"What was that about?" Vader inquired.

"Just winning arguments with Vanee, my lord," Lyra replied, totally satisfied with herself.

Later that day, at a guard's summons, Lyra made her way down a couple of floors to the main reception area.

Admiral Thanewulf stood looking up and around at the emptiness and nothingness of the room aside from two chairs, two loveseats, all in grey leather, and a glass caf table in the middle - all courtesy of Lyra. He looked startled as she walked across the room.

"Admiral Thanewulf," Lyra said, extending her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My lord asked me to greet you if he had not returned from the palace yet. Please sit," she said gesturing to a sofa. The both looked up to the rattling sound of L-PO guiding a hover tray towards them.

"Caf or water?"

"Uh...Yes, thank you. Caf, black."

"Lord Vader said that you had done an excellent job setting up the Telos 9 station. I'm afraid I don't know exactly what station that is. I understand if you can't share any information."

Thanewulf beamed. "Thank you my lady. Telos 9 is a new prison and mining colony. Captured rebels, enemies of the state, etc. are sent there and can pay their debts to the Emperor by mining thylor crystals. You see, thylor is a crystal very similar in function to kyber crystals and with some modification, can be used like kyber crystals in weapons. So, our prison produces a benefit to the Empire plus is a way of redemption for those foolish enough to oppose the Emperor."

Lyra sat perched on the edge of the sofa with her legs crossed and her hands clasped around the knee on top. Her smile felt frozen and forced.

"Well, how interesting."

Thankfully, at that moment, the lift doors opened, and Vader appeared.

Both Lyra and Thanewulf stood. "Well, gentlemen, I'll leave you to it. Admiral, it was a pleasure."

"Thank you my lady, and it was an honor to meet you." Thanewulf smartly bowed his head towards Lyra and turned to Vader.

* * *

_(Warning: reference to sexual assault)_

_Things like this were very difficult. I had a suspicion that there were places like this in the empire, but until that moment, I didn't have concrete evidence - and what could I do about it? Then, it got worse._

Three months later, at a palace event, Lyra slipped away to the ladies room. Finding it surprisingly empty aside from a protocol droid, she moved to a far corner in the back room where she could adjust her dress. Lyra was just about to leave when she overheard two ladies who had just entered.

"–wulf has a side business there on Telos 9. He's pimping out certain political prisoners, male and female to the highest bidders."

"The second voice replied, "Why? These people can afford the highest quality pleasure servers here on Imperial Center."

"No, no, this is about revenge. Imagine if your greatest rival was imprisoned there. Plus, there's the high quality ryll spice that gives the most wonderful high. Thanewulf has found a supplier and furnishes the spice as a special gift to his customers."

"Does the Emperor allow this?"

"I imagine he does if he gets a large enough cut. Of course, there's another rumor that Thanewulf is playing a more dangerous game."

Lyra leaned forward, straining to hear.

"Some say that Thanewulf is taping these encounters and is using them to blackmail the official or even the victim's family. If he keeps that up, he's going to be dead one–" At that, the door to the lounge closed.

Lyra stood there stunned and sickened. How much of this did Vader know - and condone?

* * *

Two days of hard pondering, two days of being distracted, two days of getting absolutely nothing done. Pacing on the promenade, Lyra looked out over the city. Coruscant had taken on a hard, sinister feel with what had once been awe-inspiring was now crass and crude with a lurking sense of had things really changed, or was she just now seeing what had been there the whole time?

There were two choices: say nothing or say something. Say nothing and life goes on as before. Or does it? How can you go on as usual knowing something like that?

Say something, and then what? The potential for repercussions was great.

_Keep my head down and stick to my own little bubble of safety. But how safe is safe? _

What had been quietly tucked away in the very back of Lyra's thoughts suddenly burst forward. This could all come crashing down and not by the Rebellion.

Lyra paced on, arms crossed, deep in thought, moving to where he most likely would be. Here goes nothing.

"Are you award of the rape facility on Telos 9?"

That clearly caught Vader off-guard as his head suddenly turned towards her, and he then pulled back and peered down at her.

Vader said nothing for a moment. "Who told you this?"

Lyra explained what she had overheard including the Emperor being involved. "This will get out, my lord. These things always do." Lyra paused and looked straight at him. "My lord, this justifies the rebellion." Pause. "Did you know?"

"No." Vader said nothing else and turned back towards the city. Lyra said nothing more.

_I made my feelings known, and I survived. But what does _he_ think? _

Suddenly inspired, Lyra turned back to Vader. "My lord, I could be overreacting, but I've seen how the Emperor gives his favor one day, then takes it away the next." Lyra paused to think, choosing her words carefully. "What if it's us one day? Do we need a contingency plan? Some type of insurance?"

_Here it comes. His loyalty to the Emperor is absolute._

But instead...Vader thought for a moment. "Once I have Skywalker, together, we will all overthrow the Emperor and reign in his place."

_Oh!_

Trying not to show her shock, Lyra nodded and replied, "Yes, my lord." Lyra turned to look out over the cityscape.

_That's assuming an awful lot._

"Contingencies, though, would be prudent," he said. "What are your suggestions?"

Lyra turned back towards Vader. "Well, after our physical safety, there's the issue of money. We'll need to have reserves hidden. I do have an idea, but I'll need to speak with my mother and grandmother. I believe we can funnel money through them. I just need to figure out how to communicate with them confidentially, since the Emperor's people might have found a way to tap back into our system."

"Go to them."

"Oh," Lyra exclaimed, surprised. "Well, yes, if you agree, yes, I can do that. A family visit, so on and so forth. If I know my mother and grandmother, they've outwitted any attempt to spy on them at home, so we can speak openly."

* * *

"_So, off I went. Vader had more than one top of the line Lambda T-4a shuttles, and I have to say, it was nice. Since we were going to a fairly stable region in the galaxy, there was no need for a TIE escort." Lyra laughed. "We did cause a bit of a stir, though, when we landed. I guess the school had never had something that nice on the landing pad before. Townspeople even wandered over to have a look. I told the pilot and guards to let them look and answer any questions. No one could go inside, of course, because of security."_

"_Can you circle back to you telling him about the prison on Telos 9? He never said anything more? And nothing when you said it justified the rebellion?"_

"_Nope, but what I said was frankly, treason, and later I was a bit horrified at how brazen I had been. No, he said nothing more, and I don't think he would have, but maybe, just maybe, a seed was planted, or an erosion in his wall, shall we say, was starting. As for me, the more I saw up close of the workings of the Empire, the more I secretly sided with the Rebel Alliance, and I'm not just saying that because of you."_

"_Okay, sorry. Back to the contingency plan."_

* * *

Lyra settled down in her seat in the understated luxury of the T-4a shuttle and buckled up. A full security detail sat in the back compartment. All entirely appropriate and owed to her in her role as the Lady Vader.

_Aaannnddd... being Lady Vader has nothing to do with your own achievements and skill, so just reel it back in and calm the hell down._

_Point taken._

Lyra's shuttle landed just after dawn on a warm, spring morning on Esfir. The stone and stucco buildings of the Kir Zelah school glowed a beige-pink in the morning sun. A soft breeze rippled through the green fields and created a shower of pale pink blossoms in the blumfruit grove. No one was out and about yet in this part of the complex, so with her clearance card, Lyra let herself into the kitchen wing and made herself a cup of steaming caf. Out from the kitchen door, she made her way down the stone path to the meditation garden. A few sisters sat silently by the long, narrow, rectangular stone pool. The narrow waterway opened into a wider pool nestled amongst ferns and low evergreens. Water trickling down rocks from a hidden spring fed the pool and broke the silence. Not wanting to disturb anyone, Lyra moved on towards the garden of the head priestess's house, the garden she grew up in. Smiling, Lyra settled in her old swing under the shimmer willow. The soaring heights of Coruscant were truly a wonder, but only earth and sun, trees and flowers could feed the soul.

"Here you are. I brought you a blumfruit pastry," Amera announced. "You can set the tray here. Thank you." she directed to the servant behind her. As the servant moved back towards the kitchen, Amera refilled Lyra's cup and handed her a pastry.

"Wonderful! Thank you." Lyra sighed with happiness and continued swinging slightly, cup in one hand and pastry in the other.

"So what do we owe the pleasure? I don't suppose this is purely a visit."

"Well...sorry, excuse me." Lyra swallowed her bite. "I hope Jael is up soon since we'll need her advice and cunning. Oh! Speak of the hissing dragon; here she is. Our disagreement over the gifts for the orphans is going to be put to good use."

After Jael settled in the wicker chair by Amera, Lyra updated them on Telos 9 and her concerns about the Emperor.

"Horrible! And a horrible man! I knew we made the right decision…," Amera lowered her voice, "to, uh, provide financial help where we can. The less said, you see." Jael nodded.

"Of course," Lyra noted, impressed.

"So, my dear, what is this about the orphans and your contingency plan?" Amera asked.

"Since it's already been a topic of discussion between us that the Empire has most likely overheard, no one, I assume, will think twice about my sending you money on a regular basis. Now, part of this can be used for the orphans - because they need it and in case someone comes looking - but ultimately, this will be our financial safety net just in case the Emperor turns on us. If something goes down, Vader and I will both have to move quickly to a safe location, to be determined. Certainly not here since this will probably be one of the first places the Empire searches."

Amera sat her cup down and leaned forward. "How serious is this threat?"

"Oh, nothing concrete at all. I've just seen how the Emperor's treated others, and I feel better knowing that we have plans in place. Just in case."

The three women sat silently pondering this. In the distance, laughter erupted as the young girls ran from their houses to the dining hall.

Jael refilled her cup from the ceramic pot and sat back in her chair. "Well?"

"Yes."

"I knew it! And?"

"Ah…" Lyra smiled and blushed. "Fine. Ultimately my choice. Power is an aphrodisiac."

"Oh yes." Both women nodded wisely.

Lyra signed. "So, so I don't know. I'm not even sure what I'm asking. Where do we go from here? What happens next? What is the goal? I guess."

"Keep on as you are. You're where you're supposed to be and apparently doing what you're supposed to be doing."

Lyra nodded thoughtfully in agreement and absentmindedly swirled her caf in the cup.

"I'm sure you know this," Jael asserted, "But just as a reminder, gentleness and softness. In your situation, let him lead."

"Oh trust me, grandmother, one does not tell a dark lord what to do. Actually," Lyra noted, thinking back, "I've done that a time or two," she paused, "but I was clearly right and got away with it, so yay me!"

Amera laughed and Jael chuckled, and they began to lay out the details of Lyra's plan.

During a lull in the conversation, Lyra stood up from the swing and set her cup on the table. Crossing her arms, she sighed and looked out over the fields.

"There is something, though, that's bothering me. I don't know what Vader does from day to day. I know he led a raid on Hoth, and he seems to command much if not all of the military, but other than that, I'm not sure." Lyra turned to the two women. "He does what the Emperor tells him to, whatever that is. The news bulletins endlessly praise him, and members of the court fear him, that much is clear. I've heard rumors of attacks he's led. By staying in his house, by helping him with his medical equipment and various things, and by, well, sleeping with him, am I complicit in any wrongdoing?"

The two ladies thought this over for a moment. "Is it your intention to help him with wrongdoing?" Amera asked.

"Heavens no!"

"Well, then I'd say no. You don't have much say in the situation overall, so all you can do is let the Force guide you. And if it guides you to help him with certain things, things that I might add are not hurting others, then I think you're doing exactly as you should be doing and should keep on." Jael nodded in agreement. _Seriously, do they practice synchronized head-nodding?_

* * *

_Welcome Dear Readers! We interrupt your regularly scheduled intellectually stimulating reading to bring you the latest. We have it on good authority that a senior lady of the Empire, someone who might be the most senior spouse in all the known universe, has been quietly contributing large sums to several charities. Our beautiful benefactor is making generosity fashionable! At the next charity ball, we will all raise a glass in toast to her ladyship._


	13. Chapter 13

PG-13 with a teaspoon of R

* * *

"_I did feel a bit better after talking with Amera and Jael. I've always tried to be a good, honest person, so I did worry about being an accomplice to...something. Anyway, our plan was in place if we ever needed it. Amera and Jael created a bank account in the school's name and gave me access. That was what, six months ago, seven months? There should be quite a bit in the fund right now, and it would have grown over time since we'd need a large amount if anything went wrong. Oh! That reminds me…"_

A few days before leaving for Esfir, Lyra stopped by the street market to pick up a few gifts for Jael and Amera, those spices and oils they seemed to like that actually smelled to high heaven. Arriving back in her quarters, Lyra found a small doll, like an ornament that would be used in a Fete Week celebration arrangement.

_Huh. Must have been put in my bag by accident. _

Dinner arrived at that point, and Lyra forgot about the doll. Later that evening while watching the holo videos, Lyra finally paid attention to a thought that had been nagging at her. Of course!

"Yes, my lady, how may I assist you?"

"Vanee, I'm so sorry for disturbing you so late, but an object that I didn't purchase appeared in my shopping bag, and I guess just to be on the safe side, can you have someone from security look it over, just in case?"

"Of course my lady, someone will be there momentarily."

A few minutes later, Vanee himself appeared. "I was with his lordship when you called, and he directed me to look into this personally."

"Thank you for coming. Here it is," Lyra gestured to the doll sitting on the counter of her small bar area.

Vanee stared at the doll for a moment, then hit his comm unit. "We need a medical decontamination unit in Lady Vader's quarters immediately!"

Vanee turned to Lyra, and glancing back at the doll, extended his arm across Lyra. "Step back my lady- Run! Into the bedroom!"

Vanee grabbed Lyra by the elbow and hurried her into the bedroom as the doll began to give off a stream of spores. Vanee immediately closed the door and sighed.

"I'm sorry my lady, we're going to have to go through decontamination also. If we had run into the hall, we would have carried some of the spores with us. How are you feeling?" Vanee looked at her, obviously worried. Strange to see the usually unflappable Vanee reacting.

"Uh, fine, what is that? How should I be feeling?"

"That's a githdar doll containing synox spores. They're frequently used by assassins on Lotho Minor. The poison shuts down the respiratory system. If we haven't reacted by now, then I believe we're okay, but we can't leave until the decontamination units have thoroughly gone over your quarters. I believe they're here now.

"_It took quite a while, but the decontamination droids went over every part of my sitting room cleaning up the spores. Vanee was right; they were synox spores and quite deadly. So, with me in the bathroom and him in the bedroom, we both stripped and turned our clothes over to the droids for decontamination. When the sitting room was complete, Vanee moved into it and a protocol droid brought him another set of clothing. I was stuck in the bathroom while my bedroom was gone over. The medical droids also checked us out."_

"_Any clue who gave you the doll?"_

"_No, maybe someone from Xixor's syndicate? The Rebellion? The Emperor?"_

"_I can assure you that the Rebellion had no plans to assassinate you."_

_Lyra laughed. "Good! But no, after that, there were other things to occupy Vader's attention. I was very shaken, so when I returned from Esfir, I didn't go out quite as much and when I did, I took a guard or two for a while. Later, I realized just how dangerous the situation was, and I was very grateful to Vanee. He saved my life, although he never did tell me how he knew about dithdar dolls. Anyway, Vader and I agreed to a substantial financial award for him. Also, it just underscored the need for a contingency plan such as I set up with Amera and Jael. That attempt, though, wasn't the last."_

* * *

A bright, sunny day. The perfect day for the One Galaxy crafts fair. Row after row of booths filled Monument Plaza, stretching out like spokes on a wagon wheel with the four monuments surrounding the exposed mountain peak at the center. At one corner sat a huge food area with a plant display and flower show at the opposite corner. A children's area and petting zoo filled the other two corners. All in all a great day. Setting aside any hesitation about going out in public and refusing any guards, Lyra excitedly packed a tote she'd use to haul home her finds and put on her most comfortable walking shoes. The order of the day was to canvas the entire area marking interesting finds on her map. Then, once she'd seen everything, she'd double-back and purchase what she wanted, unless it was going fast, then she'd make her buy and haul it with her.

Two hours in, Lyra has just finished her second iced caf and was perusing a large booth filled with the most beautiful items handmade out of shimmering drii silk.

_Which throw: the ice blue with faint touches of gold or the mauve and cream? Do I need both? No. Do I want both? Yes! Decisions, decisions._

Then, something was...off. A human male stood close on one side with a triangular-headed Arcona close on the other side. Lyra stepped back and into someone or something right behind her. Without looking at her, the human male slid his arm around Lyra's waist and held her firmly. Lyra inhaled deeply and got out a loud scream before a hand clasped her mouth. Lyra stomped the human male's foot and shoved her elbow in his ribs while kicking over the table before them. Finally attracting the crowd's attention, Lyra continued to struggle and grabbed one of the poles holding the booth up. Breaking free from the hand over her mouth, Lyra screamed "Help!" as she twisted around and kicked the Arcona.

All of the sudden, it was raining women. Women coming from everywhere. Something, or someone, landed on Lyra and lay on top of her, either protecting her or trying to suffocate her. Hard to tell at the moment. General sounds of a fight could be heard. Then, a loud whistle.

"Break it up, break it up! What's going on here?"

The someone got up off Lyra, and several voices including Lyra's attempted to tell the officer what had occurred.

"They tried to kidnap me!" Lyra screamed in the officer's face, causing him to pull back. Right then, more officers arrived, and the crowd was gathered into groups with officers taking statements. Additional officers hauled the bruised and bleeding would-be kidnappers to their feet and surrounded them.

Waiting her turn, Lyra recognized the two women by her. Order members. "You're the ones who saved me!"

Both smiled. "Yeah, we had been following you and got separated in the crowd. When Eve," one woman said indicating the other, "and I realized that several people were surrounding you and cutting you off from the crowd, we called in all of our group here at the fair, and one notified law enforcement."

"You've been tailing me? Why, and for how long?"

"We've followed you heavily since Prince Xixor's death, but we've always been close by. Several order members have jobs in the stores you frequent like your favorite caf shop, a couple of the dress designers you use, and Jarikstrom's. Breen over there sold you lipstick at Jarikstrom's last week."

Eve nodded. "That's right. We know your patterns and work shifts during those hours."

"I'm Yalena, by the way," the first woman noted. "Tailing you is not that bad, frequently dull, but you do go to nice places." Yalena smiled. "Sorry for crushing you. I did the best I could to protect you from the danger."

Lyra held up her skinned hands. "A small price to pay. I'm very grateful. So Amera and Jael are ultimately behind this."

"Of course, and they won't let you forget that!"

"That's right. We report regularly on how you're doing."

Lyra shook her head and looked around for a place to sit. It was so annoying when Amera and Jael interfered and were right.

An hour later, all statements had been given, and the would-be kidnappers were hauled off for interrogation.

Lyra turned to Yalena. "You told the officer the truth? About who you are and what you're doing?"

"Sure, we're not breaking the law; no need to lie." At that moment, the officer in charge approached.

"Ma'am, we'll send this report to Lord Vader immediately."

"Oh, I don't think we need to bother him-"

"Yes ma'am. We don't want to get on his lordship's bad side. Here's your escort to take you back to Lord Vader's palace." The officer indicated Vanee and a contingent of storm troopers who arrived. Thanking the ladies, Lyra allowed Vanee to fuss over her and bundle her back to the palace.

Arriving at the palace, Vanee acknowledged a command over the comm link. "Yes, Lord Vader. Right away." Vanee turned to Lyra as they moved to the turbo lift. "Lord Vader will meet you in the main hall."

Reaching the hall, Vanee paused. "My lady, I'll have L-PO bring tea to your quarters." Vanee then bowed and departed.

Lyra glanced around at the sparse hall, then examined her hands, which still ached from the impact of hitting the ground. Right then, the turbo lift doors on the far side opened, and Vader strode out. As usual, Vader walked with purpose, but as he stalked across the cavernous hall, there was an extra sense of menace about him.

Stopping in front of Lyra, Vader leaned down in her face and raised his voice. "You have behaved irresponsibly! Guards were at your disposal, and you refused them."

Lyra's eyes widened, and she was speechless with fear. Faintness shot through her, but then something odd. Lyra paused for a fraction of a second and thought.

"You care? _Why_ do you care?" she asked.

Vader ignored her question. "I cannot leave you to your own devices. You will accompany me to the command ship so I can keep an eye on you. Be at the shuttle in ten minutes, and be ready to receive the Emperor during our trip." Not waiting for a reply, Vader turned and left.

Lyra hurriedly moved to the opposite turbo doors and entered. Going up, she thanked the Force, the universe, her own foresight, and even Amera and Jael for having the common sense to be prepared. Running into her quarters, Lyra grabbed the fully packed backpack from her closet. She also grabbed three suit bags: two containing formal court dresses for day and one containing a formal dress for night. That will have to do. Lyra had stored each court dress in its own suit bag along with a cloak or shawl, a complete set of undergarments, shoes, and a clutch.

"L-PO, carry these." Lyra handed two bags to her droid. She then pulled a small case out of a drawer. The case contained precious yet subtle jewels that she had purchased for court appearances. Vader, of course, had never purchased her any jewelry; that was definitely one thought that had never entered his mind.

Lyra picked up the other suit bag, the backpack, and her purse. She and L-PO arrived at the shuttle a full three minutes before Vader. Vader did not speak as he settled in. Curling her legs and feet under her, Lyra leaned back in the seat. She stared at her datapad, not really seeing the words. Fatigue washed over her, and the events of the day played out over and over in her head. Strange how the feeling of being thrown to the ground of all things stood out among all the other feelings and sensations, and of course, Vader's displeasure landed on her like a ton of bricks. Lyra silently moved to the restroom in the back and got the door closed right before she burst into tears. All of the day's tension flowed out and into the linen towel she buried her face into to muffle the sound.

_Okay, let it out and then stop; you're going to be seen by others soon._

After a couple of minutes, Lyra felt more calm, and after a minute of applying a cool, wet towel to her eyes, was able to re-enter the cabin. Lyra ordered hot tea from the food unit and returned to her seat. Vader never looked her way nor indicated if he had heard anything. Lyra knew that he would not look back to see her red, puffy eyes now devoid of any eye makeup.

Lyra sat and stared out at the stars, the heat of the tea providing some comfort from the sting of doing wrong and disappointing.

_A character flaw of mine: always striving to be "perfect" and never quite pulling it off._

_The downfall of the perfect and elegant Lady Vader. _

_I know, I know, melodramatic, but still!_

A new flood of tears threatened to emerge, but Lyra forced them down so that her eyes could sufficiently recover by the time they docked.

_Vader's reaction, though, was...curious._

Several minutes later as the shuttle docked, Vader turned to Lyra. "Proceed to my quarters and wait for me. You know what to do." Striding down the ramp, he addressed a waiting officer. "Escort Lady Vader to my quarters." Vader marched off leaving Lyra to her escort.

Entering Vader's quarters, Lyra looked around. Like she had briefly seen the last time on board, this was much like his quarters on Coruscant: cavernous, bare dark walls, no decor, a large medical chair surrounded by droids, various mechanical arms extending from the ceiling, and a large bed with a plain gray covering.

Lyra knew what Vader expected. Removing her clothes, she placed them on her luggage near the door and pulled out a soft, partially see-through shawl to help ward off any chill. Very feminine - and warm - yet still revealing.

Lyra looked at her reflection in the window. _Please tell me other ships can't see in. _

Holding her shawl around her, Lyra looked around for something to do. Right then, the door slid open, and Vader walked in. _Yay for small anterooms that block the sight of this room!_

Not commenting on her state of undressedness, Vader moved to the center of his equipment and extended his arms out to the side slightly so the droids could dismantle his suite.

"Bend over the edge of the bed."

Lyra lay aside her shawl and did as she was commanded.

For quite a while, she stared straight ahead or down at the bed covering while listening to the sounds of whirling, cranking, clanging, and liquid flowing, very conscious that her bare bottom faced him.

All grew quiet and footsteps approached her over the carpet. A cold, metal hand pressed lightly on the small of her back. A non-helmeted voice spoke.

"This is your punishment for refusing guards and putting yourself in danger."

Whap!

Lyra gasped.

Whap!

_That stung!_

Whap!

_Well, it's actually…_

Whap!

_...not that bad…_

Whap!

_Oh! Not bad at...Oh!_

Whap!

_Oh…._

Whap!

Lyra moaned softly and…

Whap!

...arched her back.

Whap!

Lyra sighed audibly and deeply and grasped the bed covering.

Whap!

Pause. The hand moved from her back, and Vader tossed aside whatever it was he used. Lyra's bottom felt very warm and still stung, but other parts..._Ohhhh..._

A metal knee not roughly parted her legs, and metal hands lightly grasped her hips and tilted them to a small degree. Vader then entered her from behind.

Afterwards, both lay spent on top of the bed with the room lit only by the light of the stars outside.

* * *

_No, no, no! _

_No, no, no, no, no!_

Lyra woke from a deep sleep and jumped up. In the dark, she grabbed her clothes and darted in the bathroom just in time. After several bouts of vomiting, Lyra lay curled on the floor, her stomach hurting too badly to move. The bathroom door slid open, and a medical droid hovered over her and gave her an injection. After a moment, Lyra grasped the side of the toilet and pulled herself to her feet. After rinsing her mouth out, Lyra shakily got dressed and stepped around the droid and out into the still dark bedroom. Lyra slid her feet into her shoes and picking up her purse and backpack and leaving her suite bags for later, Lyra walked through the bedroom door and entryway and out into the corridor.

_Was Vader still asleep?_

_Don't know. Don't care._

_Amazing I can still move with no internal organs left._

Lyra took the turbo lift down two floors and slowly moved down the long, long, growing ever longer corridor until she reached the executive quarters, which were thankfully still keyed to her voice command. Luckily no one was out and about that early in the morning.

Lyra entered, dropped her bags, and climbed into bed, still dressed.

"I think the worst is over, my lord. I hear that the dendrobium stomach bug is going around the palace district on Coruscant. Her ladyship will be weak for several days. Plenty of rest and liquids and a very light diet will help."

Lyra opened an eye to see a human doctor peering at her closely with a fully suited Vader behind him.

The doctor smiled. "Good morning, my lady. At least you got your shoes off before you got into bed."

"I did?" Lyra groaned and closed her eyes.

* * *

_Lyra sat, remembering back and omitting certain parts, of course. _

"_So Vader was mad because you had refused bodyguards?"_

"_Partly, but thinking back, I think he was also mad at himself that it was a group of priestesses who saved me and not himself. Well, that's my theory, but I could be wrong."_

* * *

The next day, the hormones and most of the shame had worn off, and Lyra was weak, grumpy, and pissed that Vader had blamed her and not the kidnappers.

_Maybe I should have known better, maybe I should have known that Xixor's people or someone might come after me...but still!_

_He had better not summon me tonight because I am not in the mood to be his submissive sex kitten. Oh hell no._

Fortunately for a certain Dark Lord, Vader did not summon her.

* * *

"_So yes, I was there, on the second Death Star not long before it was destroyed. When the Emperor arrived, I was right there behind Vader. I took my place about four feet behind Vader and knelt when he did and rose when he did. That's when the Emperor noticed me."_

"Lady Vader, a pleasant surprise. You're most lovely today." Slimy toad.

"Thank you, your majesty," Lyra said softly and bowed her head.

The Emperor turned to Vader, "You've done well, Lord Vader. I sense that you want to continue your search for young Skywalker."

_Luke! He knows about Luke!_

The group moved towards the turbolift. At the lift, Vader nodded to Lyra. "You may return to the ship."

"So soon?" said the Emperor openly looking her up and down.

Lyra bowed to the Emperor. "My apologies your Majesty. I'm just getting over a stomach bug and am still rather weak."

"Of course, of course." The Emperor waved Lyra away and turned to the other officials.

"_A couple of hours later, Vader arrived and announced that I was going back to Coruscant. All I said was 'Thank you, my lord.'"_

_That was the last time I saw him._

_The next day, I left on a personnel transporter that was returning to Coruscant. I was in a small, cramped cabin, quite unlike what I was used to. I think Vader put me on the first ship out of there to get me away from the Emperor, so I wasn't going to complain._

That evening, Lyra moved towards the cabin's desk and then…

Falling...

Falling...

Wave after wave after wave…

Faces, words, thoughts…..

_Anger _

_Regret_

_Goodness_

Rushing through her, entering and departing at the same time. Wave after wave of images, voices, thoughts, and feelings. Wave after wave…

_Shouting, hatred, fear, evil, goodness, happiness, affection, laughter. _

_Relief, regret, love, forgiveness._

Lying on the floor where she fell, Lyra became aware of her own gasping for breath. _Breathe, just breathe. You can breathe, you can move, you can see, you can think. Calm, calm, settle, breathe._

Lyra focused on keeping calm and still since every movement caused waves of vibrations to run through her. Something had changed, something within her, but what? Gradually, the sensations faded and everything was quiet. Exhausted, Lyra managed to stand and stumbled onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Several hours later, Lyra woke to a commotion out in the hall with the sound of people rushing about. Feeling much stronger, Lyra started towards the door to see what was going on. Right then, she received a transmission from Vanee, who was away overseeing maintenance on the Mustafar fortress.

"My lady, have you seen the latest news broadcasts?"

"No, why?"

"My lady, reports are being confirmed that the battle station the Emperor was on has been destroyed by the Rebel Alliance. There is still much chaos, but all reports say that the Emperor is dead. My lady," Vanee said softly, "I'm afraid they also say that Lord Vader has also perished."

Lyra sat down stunned. No, that is simply not possible! Sure enough, there was nothing else on the broadcasts but this report being confirmed, that report, etc. The rebellion had declared victory and was taking command of the government. Lyra suspected they'd reach Coruscant in the next day or so.

"My lady, do you know if your ship is still going to Coruscant? I would hesitate going to the Lord Vader's palace. We don't know if it's safe."

"I'm sorry, what? Oh yes, well, aren't the security measures still in place? Is the garrison still there?"

"Yes my lady, the garrison is still there for the time being."

Lyra thought. "I'll go in. I know all the access codes."

"My lady, if you do, you need to get in and out quickly," Vanee said urgently. "We don't know what will happen, and it's best that you aren't there."

"I know; you're right. What about you? Your things are still there."

"I have nothing of consequence, my lady. I will vanish. I imagine at some point, they'll want to talk to a servant of Vader's, and I would rather it not be me."

Lyra shook her head. "I'm still stunned. How is this possible? I mean, I know it's possible, but...I'm sorry, I know I'm babbling. This is just a lot to take in. I was just _there_!"

"I'm sorry my lady, I'm sure it's a shock. It's a shock for all of us."

"Yes, well, I can't stay there. I'll put my things together and leave as soon as I can."

"My lady, if you don't mind, may I check in with you in a few hours for my own peace of mind, to make sure you're safely gone?"

"Of course. I'll contact you when I'm safely out. It might take me a little while once I do reach home, and I think we're still a few hours out, but I will. Thank you Vanee, and thank you for the kindness you've shown me."

"Of course my lady, it was my pleasure."

"I'll contact you soon. Goodbye."

Lyra tried to contact the first officer. Nothing. Lyra moved out into the passage and made her way to the bridge. The lift doors opened to many low nervous conversations.

The haggard looking first officer moved up to Lyra. "My lady, I'm sorry, but we're rather pre-occupied at the moment. I suppose you've heard the news?"

"Yes. Are we still going to Coruscant?"

The first office took his cap off, ran his hand over his head and rubbed his neck. "Right now, yes, we're going to the shipyard as planned, at least until we receive other orders. I honestly don't know what will happen after that."

Lyra thanked him and returned to her cabin. Just on the off chance, Lyra grabbed her comm unit and entered Vader's number. Wait, wait, wait, nothing, nothing...the call rolled over to an aid's unit. An answering machine picked up.

"Hello, yes, this is Lady Vader. I'm trying to reach his lordship. Please contact me as soon as you're able. Thanks." _A lot of good that's going to do._

Not wanting to confront her feelings, Lyra shoved any thoughts about what might be into the back of her mind and focused on her plans once the ship reached Coruscant. Get in, get things, get out. Get in, get things, get out. Lyra paced and planned and paced and planned, had one conversation with her panicking mother and assured her she was safe and would call again soon, and paced and planned.

The money! Grabbing her data pad, Lyra accessed Vader's accounts in the Imperial Bank, and within a few minutes, had transferred most of the money into her personal account, not her account as Lady Vader, but her regular account as Lyra Sekai. She emptied her Lady Vader account into it too. Lyra then quickly opened two other accounts and moved money from other funds into them. In a matter of minutes, Lyra Sekai was a very wealthy woman.

"_Why not? Vader was dead, and I was his wife, my name was on many of those accounts, so if anyone from the Rebel Alliance asked, I would say that it just made sense that I would take the money."_

_Lyra sighed. "Frankly, I also felt entitled. The Emperor had taken away my liberty, and I had lived such a constrained life that I felt that I was owed something. So, I took as much as I could. If it was all a mistake and Vader was actually alive, then I would move everything back and explain. No, actually, I don't think he would have noticed. I've never seen someone so uninterested in wealth, even though he did spend quite a bit every now and then, like practice battle droids, new Tie fighters, etc."_

Moving money kept Lyra occupied for a while and gave her something constructive to do and helped her not to think of Vader as dead. Lyra moved on to other investment accounts. To make it easier to keep track of what was where, Lyra opened a new account that corresponded to each investment account that she emptied. Who knew if the Rebel Alliance would demand the money saying that it was stolen from others, even though as far as Lyra could tell, the funds going into each account were legitimate. Finally, accessing the palace's payroll system, Lyra deposited a very large lump sum in Vanee's account. She also deposited an extra year's worth of wages in the accounts of the other few personnel assigned to the palace or to the Mustafar fortress, most of whom she had never seen. But, since they were technically out of a job, she felt that she owed them something.

While she worked, another thought came to Lyra.

_Without Vader, who am I? Am I vulnerable? Am I in danger from the soldiers here and back at Vader's palace? Vulnerable to abuse, to being held hostage unless I give up some of the money? Can I still give orders? _

_Without Vader, what protection do I have?_


	14. Chapter 14

Late afternoon, the ship arrived at the shipyard on Coruscant. Still a bit fearful, Lyra didn't wait for an escort once the all-clear to disembark was broadcast. Lyra quickly moved to level 32 and joined the crowd moving down the off-ramp. After asking a couple of soldiers for directions, Lyra made her way to the front entrance. Along the way, she passed soldiers standing around or milling about in groups. No one was working; everyone seemed nervous. Who knew what would happen next, and who was in charge?

Lyra was able to quickly summon an air taxi. Thankfully, it was piloted by a droid, so it didn't balk at being directed to Number 2 Palace District. On the way, the taxi passed masses of people on the walkways celebrating. Fireworks were being set off all over. As the taxi approached Vader's palace, Lyra entered the access code on her com unit, and the protective force field lowered so the taxi could approach the landing pad. As it left the palace, Lyra entered the code to raise it. No other ship tried to approach while the field was down, which was a relief.

Lyra entered the landing bay. No one was around, and her speeder was still in its place. Lyra placed her luggage in it and move it closer to the turbo lift. Keeping her com unit with her in case the lift stopped working, Lyra took the lift to the kitchen and laundry areas. No one. All of the protocol droids including L-PO and V-8 had been shut down. Lyra moved to a security panel and keyed in the code for the camera system. Nothing on any floor that she could see. The emptiness of such a vast space was rather creepy and boosted her sense of urgency to get in and get out.

While she was here, should she try to contact the garrison below? Had they already been alerted to her presence? Let's see, newly vulnerable, very wealthy, empty building, and possibly soldiers with questionable command structure. Okay, forget contacting the garrison. Get in, get things, get out.

On her way to the turbo lift, Lyra paused by a window. Everything still seemed peaceful outside the building, but who knew what would happen soon. Lyra went back to the lift and entered the command before she lost her nerve.

The lift opened at the security blast door to Vader's personal quarters. Lyra keyed in the access code and entered. Nothing in the bacta tank chamber seemed disturbed, same with the meditation chamber. Lyra entered the code to Vader's bedroom. Again, nothing out of sorts. Lyra started looking quickly through the storage compartments, not quite sure what she was looking for. Standard underwear, a few pairs of boots, another cape, nothing of great interest. Several texts of various histories sat in a stack on the bedside table. Lyra looked through all of the drawers in the room and found nothing until her hand touched something in the very back of one. Lyra pulled out a polished wooden box about an inch thick and about six inches long. Inside the box were three photos. One was of a smiling woman and a small boy. "Anakin, 6 years," was written on the back. Anakin. Hmmm.

The next photo was of a couple, a beautiful, young woman and a handsome young man, laughing into the camera like they were sharing a joke.

"Oh my," Lyra thought. She recognized those eyes.

The next photo was a shock. It was Lyra herself, probably taken from a surveillance camera. She was in an evening gown with her hair pinned up, looking up and over her left shoulder. Lyra never really like her photos, but this one was rather good - and he had kept it.

Lyra closed the box and took it with her, locking the chamber on the way out. Lyra took the lift to her own quarters, wondering what she'd find. Were any of her things left, or had they been plundered?

Lyra opened the door to her quarters and cautiously looked around. Nothing seemed out of place. Lyra turned on the broadcasts so she could keep up with the news. Nothing new, just the same information, but this time mixed with news of celebrations on various worlds.

Lyra opened the lift door and entered a command to keep it open. To protect her things from the floor, Lyra spread out the suit bags containing her evening gowns and court dresses on the floor of the lift. Next, she folded her bedspread and placed it and all four of her bed pillows in the lift. Next came the throw pillows and lamps wrapped in the cashmere throws. Using sheets and towels, Lyra wrapped her various crystal glasses, pitchers, and vases, careful to place the flowers in the garbage and dry the containers first. _Who's going to empty that garbage? _

Lyra packed a shopping bag with her underwear and several shirts and placed her crystal in the bag so each piece was cushioned. This too went into the lift along with another shopping bag filled with shoes. Next came a couple of stacks of clothes, more clothes on their hangers, and a bag of bathroom items. After that came the string lights off of the three potted trees. Lastly, Lyra rolled up the three rugs and gently placed them on top of everything.

Lyra looked around one last time. The refrigeration unit! Lyra gathered up the few remaining containers of yogurt and cheese and placed them in a basket in the lift. That was that. One more look outside where all still seemed quiet, and Lyra locked her door and carefully stepped into the lift.

"_One thing that ran through my mind while packing my things is that at some point, someone is going to go through Vader's palace. I had visions of being mentioned in some article or show, 'This was Lady Vader's quarters. All that remains are a sofa, a chair, some yogurt, whatever. Does this give us a glimpse into her life?'"Lyra laughed. "No thanks! I left as little behind as I could."_

Down in the landing bay, Lyra moved her things out by the speeder. There was only one other seat beside hers, but even with the roomy trunk, it was going to take more than one trip. Arranging her things into roughly four groups, Lyra was able to squeeze two of the piles into her speeder. Lyra programmed a location into her speeder and was off. Arriving about 10 minutes later at the private packaging and shipping store, Lyra bought a few large boxes, and using clothes, rugs, and pillows, Lyra cushioned her lamps in a couple of boxes and addressed them to her mother on Esfir. Lyra then made her way back to Vader's palace. Again, no one tried to enter when she did. Lyra moved the last of her things into the speeder and took off. This time Lyra drove the speeder herself, taking a loop around the building for one last look. Strange how there were no sentimental thoughts of her time there, just an emptiness along with the general urge to leave. Lyra then made her way back to the shipping store.

Like before, Lyra was lucky to be able to find a place for her speeder close to the entrance. Locking the speeder, Lyra headed towards the door when two figures suddenly blocked her path. The female Dathomirian and the human male Vader had been training.

"Well, well, look what we have here, and no Vader to defend you. We've been watching the palace and caught sight of you. Now, we can have the fun we promised you," the male said. Before Lyra could react even to scream for help, the two assailants suddenly froze. Staring at her, both developed looks of horror and fright. The female grabbed the male's arm, and they ran off at top speed, glancing back at her in terror.

Lyra, utterly dumbfounded, looked all around her but saw nothing. "What was that all about?" astore worker said, coming out to help.

Lyra shook her head. "I have absolutely no idea. Something scared them off, but it can't be me. I didn't do anything. I'm not even armed."

Heart pounding and still amazed, Lyra and the store worker assembled and loaded her last boxes bound for Esfir. Leaving the store, Lyra glanced around, but seeing no one, she darted into the speeder and quickly locked the doors. On the way to the hotel she chose, Lyra looked around, but no one seemed to follow.

Lyra had reservations for three days at the luxurious Hotel Manarai. She avoided The Imperial hotel, afraid to be around so many Imperial officials where she might be recognized.

At the Manarai, Lyra settled in her room and ordered tea. It was just a little over three hours since she had arrived home from the shipyard. Pushing aside her sudden fatigue, Lyra contacted Vanee and assured him that she was finally out of Vader's palace. She also noted the confrontation outside of the shipping store.

"This is quite concerning, my lady. The other two trainees are dead. I don't know why these two were hanging about unless they were trying to figure out how to break into the palace. Apparently they arrived too late to dart in while you had the force field down, so they settled on you instead. My lady, please be very careful."

"Believe me, I will. I'll also contact you when I'm safely on Esfir."

Wishing Vanee a good night, Lyra signed off. Not wishing to answer her mother's millions of questions just yet, Lyra sent her a text message that she was safely at the hotel and would arrive on Esfir in a couple of days.

With her tea cup in one hand, Lyra sat and stared. Everything that had happened over the past three years, what was the point?

Celebrations outside were still going on full force. Part of her wanted to be outside with everyone, yet it would feel too weird.

What _did_ she feel? What was she supposed to feel? Vader had done things Lyra knew she wouldn't support. Should she be relieved, happy? The only feeling Lyra was certain about was that she was numb. For a long time, Lyra sat staring out the window drinking cup after cup of tea.

* * *

The next morning, Lyra stayed wrapped up in bed, a heavy weight bearing down on her. She stuck one hand out from under the covers and switched on the broadcasts. Nothing new, then...Lyra sat straight up.

"Tentative reports coming from the Rebel Alliance now say that it was the Emperor's own right-hand man, Lord Darth Vader himself, who killed the Emperor while aboard the military station. The Alliance has an eye witness who claims that during the battle for the station, Vader actually lifted the Emperor and threw him down the main shaft of the station, killing him. The witness notes that Vader himself was gravely injured during this and died shortly thereafter. At this point, we don't know exactly why Lord Vader killed the Emperor. The Alliance has said that the eye-witness is credible. Stay tuned as this story is still developing."

_Huh_.

* * *

Later that afternoon, still not dressed and her hair not brushed, Lyra completed her reservations on a luxury transport flight to Esfir. A hefty extra fee bought a space for her speeder in the cargo hold. Right then, her com unit chimed. Lyra glanced at the number. _001! Is it possible?_

Lyra frantically grabbed the unit. "Hello! Hello!"

"Uh, hi, I'm calling for Lyra. I was told to speak to you."

"_Who are you_?" Lyra furiously demanded. "How did you get this number? How did you get _that_ com unit?"

"My name's Luke Skywalker…"

Lyra gasped. "_Luke?_"

"It sounds like you've heard of me. I'm sorry I haven't contacted you before now; I thought it would save time in the long run if I let the Alliance do their debriefing with me so I could get out of there. I was told to contact you by someone who said that you could help. He said to remind you, and I know this sounds strange, but he said to remind you that such loveliness should not stay covered up. Yes, it was a shame to cover up such loveliness; that's what he said. Does that make any sense?"

Lyra fell back in her chair and stared at the screen with her mouth open.

"Uh, hello.."

"How is this possible?" she said at the same time.

"He said that he could put himself in stasis for a short time until we could get a hyperbaric chamber set up for him. He said you could help, and he also asked me to help you however you need it."

"HOW? I mean... What?...How? The station was destroyed!"

"Uh, is this line secure?"

"I don't know, probably not," Lyra said, coming back to herself, "Okay, how do I find you, what do you need? I'll get there as soon as I can."

"We need a hyperbaric chamber and any related equipment. Do you know what to get? I can order it if you'd like, but I don't know what to get or how to pay for it."

"I can get it and have it rushed to you. Oh, wait a minute, let me think." Lyra considered the news reports.

"This shouldn't be tied to me. I'll send you the contact information for the people who have what you need. I'll also send info on what you need to get. Call me back when you have a quote, and I'll transfer the money to you. Where is the equipment going to?"

"Tatooine."


	15. Chapter 15

The rest of the day, Lyra excitedly rearranged her travel plans. The Empire was starting to crack down on celebrations around the planet, which meant that they weren't going to give up Coruscant without a fight. At least civilian transports were still allowed to leave, so the Empire had not closed the airspace, at least not yet. Best to be off the planet by the time the Alliance arrived, though.

When all of her plans were made, Lyra took a break and curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea. Scanning the holowebs for any updates, she checked in on _The Conversationist _to see if they were reporting on the events. What she found was rather cryptic:

_The time has come; we've done our best. Scatter to the winds until we meet at the place of triumph. Stay brave, stay strong, stay hidden until the scarlet crow has flown. Those who know, know._

That was it. No comments, in fact the comments section was closed. What in the galaxy?

That night, Lyra lay in bed thinking. _Where do we go from here? What is Vader going to do?_

_Should I even be helping?_

_What is Luke like? How is the Alliance going to take over? The Imperials aren't going to give up without a fight. Mas Ameda's already saying that he's now the Emperor. If worse comes to worst, Palpatine can always open a tea room_..._Oh no! _Lyra sat up, suddenly wide awake. _What to do?_ Lyra got out of bed and looked out over the city, busy even in the middle of the night. _What to do, what to do._ Lyra considered this option and that option until during her second cup of caf, she hit upon the perfect plan, or rather, the best she could do at the moment.

_But should I be doing this, or should I just walk away?_

Lyra didn't have to be at the space port until 3:00 that afternoon to get in line to fly her speeder on to the passenger ship, so at 9:30 am, she took an air taxi to a speeder rental place. Renting a smaller hauler, Lyra made her way towards Vader's palace. Entering the Palace distract, Lyra was stopped by a security team. She truthfully told them her plans, well, most of them, and showed them her ID. The two troopers looked at her ID and at her, and well, why not? They waived her on through. As she approached Vader's palace, Lyra punched the clearance code into her com unit, and the security shield for that section gave way. Lyra darted through and re-raised the shield quickly. No one seemed to be about, and no one tried to enter along with her, so hopefully her would-be assailants were long gone.

Lyra parked the hauler in the empty landing bay and rummaging in a nearby tool drawer, found a pair of cutters. Lyra then took the turbo lift to the maintenance floor where the worker droids including L-PO were kept. Activating L-PO, she gave him his instructions, then made her way up a few floors to a hidden panel in the wall. Careful not to leave any fingerprints, Lyra opened the panel and cut the wires to the security system for that area of the building. No alarms went off, so she repeated the procedure several more floors up. At some point in the future, people might wonder if she was the one to cut the wires, but there would be no proof. Given that the Empire wasn't giving up Coruscant anytime soon, it was going to be quite a while before anyone had time to think about Vader's palace. Probably.

Thirty minutes later, Lyra closed the doors to the hauler and took off, again without any sentimentality about leaving the palace for yet another last time. Setting the hauler's navigation system, Lyra directed the vehicle to a storage unit facility. She chose this particular place since she could drive the hauler right up to her rental unit's door. Luckily no one was around, but if they were, they would have seen a parade of Vader's medical droids plus V-8 file into the unit followed by more droids moving the furniture from Lyra's quarters.

When everything was settled, Lyra turned to L-PO. "Okay, I have the data chips from the medic droids. Now, tell everyone to shut down."

"My lady, I don't understand what you're doing. Lord Vader will need these droids when he returns. Maybe we should…"

"Your behind the times L-PO. Please do as I say."

L-PO instructed the droids to shut down, and before he could protest, Lyra shut him down too and locked the door.

After returning the rented hauler, Lyra returned to the hotel, checked out, and since Luke had said they didn't have many supplies, stopped by the Imperial City Concourse luxury mall where she filled her speeder with cooking supplies, pillows, sheets, blankets, and towels plus a few pieces of warm weather clothing since most of her clothes were on their way to Esfir. After a quick stop at a grocery store for more supplies, Lyra proceeded to the spaceport and loaded her stuffed speeder onto the departing ship.

_*Sigh* Looks like I'm doing this._

Security of course, had to go through all her parcels, which didn't thrill them. After that, Lyra made her way to her guest suite and feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off her, fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

"So there you have it."

"Your story is amazing. Thank you. We don't know a lot about our father, so any information is helpful."

Lyra considered Luke for a moment. "Luke, I don't mean to disparage your skills with a lightsaber, but I've seen Vader in action, and I know a bit of the experience he's had. Even though you're, what, 24, 25 years younger, I just don't think you could have beaten him. I think, deep down, he couldn't bring himself to kill his own child."

Luke sighed. "I've wondered that too. Towards the end of the fight, I was fighting out of pure rage, but still...yeah, I think you're right, especially since he did save me from the Emperor."

"I'm still amazed by that," Lyra noted. "Yes, there were definite cracks forming in his loyalty to the Emperor, but to actually kill him? And to do so in defense of you? I think all this time, it was you who was slowly turning him instead of him turning you."

"There was still good in him. I told him that on Endor, and he proved me right."

Lyra stood up and moved to the caf unit and poured herself another cup. "I can't tell you how happy I am that he renounced the dark side. I had always hoped, but never imagined it would happen. I assumed that he'd finally overthrow the Emperor and rule as Emperor himself. That seemed far more likely."

* * *

Laughter, a woman's laughter. Wonderful, yet odd. How long has it been since I've heard laughter? Anakin opened his eyes and blinked a few times, focusing. There! The laughter was coming just outside the door opposite him. At that moment, Lyra moved into his view of the room beyond the door. She was standing with her left side facing him, her arms crossed, and a big smile on her face. A male voice spoke, and Lyra laughed in response. Anakin must have made a sound, because right then, Lyra turned and looked at him.

"Look who's awake," she said, rushing to his side. "How do you feel," she said, smiling down at him.

"I'm not sure. What happened? Where are we?"

"Do you remember what happened on the Death Star?" Luke said, coming in and standing by Lyra.

Anakin thought for a moment. "I remember throwing the Emperor down the core shaft. I remember being hit by his Force lightning. I remember you pulled me up and into the lift."

"Yeah, that's where you told me to contact Lyra and that you could put yourself into stasis, hopefully giving us time to get a hyperbaric chamber set up for you. Do you remember asking me to take your mask off?"

"Yes...yes, but nothing after that."

"I got your mask back on and pulled you into a shuttle. We got off the Death Star just in time. Hiding you and the shuttle on Endor took Leia's help."

"Leia?"

"Leia Organa, your daughter, my twin that you sensed."

"Leia…" Leia Organa! "Is she here?"

"She was until this morning, then she had to re-join the Rebel Alliance, but she'll be back at some point."

Luke continued, "I had to report to the Alliance all that happened, so Leia told them to search for Imperial soldiers in another area away from where I set the shuttle down. Fortunately, I was able to get away a few hours later. Leia told them that I was desperate to check on family on Tatooine, which wasn't exactly a lie."

"We're on Tatooine?"

Luke sighed. "I could think of only one place where we could go in the short-term. We're in a house on Tatooine."

Anakin chuckled, then coughed several times. "I swore I would never come back here, and here I am, back where I started."

Anakin paused, focusing on his surroundings. "There's something here...I feel something...Obi Wan!"

"This is Obi-Wan's house where he hid all those years. It was still in decent shape. It didn't look like anyone else has been here since I last used it. Lyra and I have been cleaning some, and Lyra arrived in a fancy speeder loaded down with supplies and immediately set up a very expensive security zone around the property."

Lyra nodded. "Yeah, that's another story, after you're rested some and had some food."

"What's the date? How much time has passed?"

"It's been exactly two weeks since the Death Star was destroyed." Lyra noted. "You've been in this chamber most of that time. The medical droids we bought said not to worry and not to rush you. Your body would awaken when it was ready."

Anakin tried to sit up, but realized that he was still too weak. "What did you do with my suit and mask? I'll need them at some point."

"Well...," Lyra looked to Luke.

"I had to burn your mask and suit. When Lyra assured me that you'd be okay once we got you into the chamber, I took off your mask and outer suit and burned them to destroy the evidence."

"So Vader _is_ dead." Anakin looked over at Lyra and smiled. "Now, photosynthesis."


	16. Chapter 16

Later that evening, Lyra cooked a dinner of baked portochine with an herb butter sauce and fresh cress greens. Luke cleaned up while Anakin dozed. After finishing the dishes, Luke walked outside over to where Lyra stood, looking out over the sand dunes.

"Lyra, I'd like to ask Father about our mother, but I keep hesitating. I feel like something's holding me back. Did he ever said anything more to you about her?"

Lyra turned towards Luke. "No. He only said that she was his first wife and that she had died. I didn't feel like I could press him for more details." Lyra sighed. "There's obviously a story there, and one that doesn't have a happy ending. You know, there's quite a bit of trauma in his life: being a slave as child, being betrayed by a friend which led to his injuries, your mother's death, and so on. I know a lot of people would be shocked that Darth Vader had experienced all of the joys and sorrows of being human, but I think it's those tragic losses of loved ones that helped him to become very dangerous."

"'Become,' you used the present tense. Do you really think Vader's gone?"

Lyra took a sip from the cup she was holding and thought for a moment. "I do, I think, but old habits die hard, shall we say. Maybe we should let him process everything while he's still practicing being in the light after all this time. Does that make sense?"

Luke nodded and was silent while he thought. After a moment, he noted, "I shouldn't press him. I'll just let him open up as he's able. I sense a movement in the Force, and I don't want to push him back into the dark by bringing up things that might be hard for him to handle, at least right now."

Lyra smiled. "That's been my strategy: let him lead. It will take you where you need to go."

* * *

The next day, Anakin actually felt like moving a bit, although he was still very weak. Wearing a portable breathing machine, Anakin was able with Lyra's help, to move to a chair just outside the front door of Kenobi's hut. He pulled his robes (_Hmmm, Obi Wan's?_) close around him and pulled the hood down so it shielded most of his face. Not having seen the sun in over two decades, Anakin's skin was at a high risk for a bad sunburn.

Lyra pulled up a chair by him, and they both looked out over the valley for several minutes. Lyra finally broke the silence.

"Luke wants to ask you about his mother but doesn't want to push you too far while you're still getting used to being back in the light side of the Force. He's decided not to say anything but to let you bring it up when you're ready."

Anakin nodded. "I will have to talk to him - and to her, Leia - eventually and explain. I'm still getting used to the thought of Leia Organa being my daughter."

"Is that good or bad, her being your daughter?"

Anakin paused for a moment. "Leia is very accomplished. She's certainly her mother's daughter. She and I have had," Anakin paused, "_confrontations_ in the past. I have much to atone for."

_Dying to know the details; won't ask._

"Okay. Whatever, or whenever, you think is best. Has Luke told you that Leia will arrive in a few days?"

"Yes."

_Well, I'm learning so much._

"Okay."

Later that night…

"_Hey! Have you heard from Luke? People are starting to wonder when he's coming back."_

"_He's fine. I'm sure Luke will report in soon." _

"_Great. I need his help with some of this. With all the reports I've had to fill out, the Alliance is turning me into a bureaucrat."_

"_I'm sure you're doing fine, General. Ah, we need to talk."_

"_That doesn't sound good."_

"_No, no, it's fine. I just need to tell you about what Luke has been doing and what we've learned about our family."_

"_Okay, we'll talk. After this meeting, you can fill me in."_

* * *

Luke stayed in touch with the Alliance as the days went by and relayed any news. Many Imperial forces had laid down their arms and defected, but others fought on, and Coruscant had still not been liberated. Meanwhile, the occupants of Kenobi's home fell into a daily pattern: Luke would help Lyra clean up after breakfast then meditate and practice utilizing the Force while Anakin focused on the light side of the Force to help him heal. Deeply ingrained habits, though, still lingered. A war of emotions played out in Anakin's head. After freely giving in to anger and utilizing it for years, overcoming anger was not easily done, and the situation was made harder by the thought that he'd have to face Leia soon. The thought that he killed Palpatine helped, but should he really take pleasure in killing, even it it was to save his son?

Lyra meanwhile relished her simple day-to-day activities and took it upon herself to turn Kenobi's small hut into a cozy home. "Make that an Emperor-free home without the constant shadow of danger," she remarked to Luke one day as she swept the ever-present sand out of the small seating area. Anakin frequently paused from his meditation to watch her. On this day, Lyra unloaded from the speeder a few containers of flowering plants, rare here in the desert. Lyra set three of the containers on the ground, watered them, and setting a saucer in the middle of the table, arranged the containers into an attractive display. Anakin found his thoughts returning to that simple act. Something so simple, yet gave such beauty, he marveled. Such small acts of beauty never existed in his mother's world or even his as a Jedi and beyond.

Lyra swept up after arranging the plants, and moved around the patio area, tidying up here and there. When done, she paused and looking out over the valley, raised a hand to her brow to shield her eyes from the sun.

_Amazing. One day I'm at the center of the universe, physically and socially, and the next, at its far edge in the middle of nowhere and glad to be here!_

This started a now familiar cycle of emotion: glad to be here, glad that Anakin had forsaken the dark, glad that the Rebellion had won, horror of what happened to the _Executor_, what if Vader had not sent her away, sadness for Admiral Piett and Lieutenant Malix, and what if Vader had not sent her away! Around and around, but no matter what, Lyra appreciated the feeling of relief of living in a universe that did not contain Sheev Palpatine.

Elsewhere…

"_This is insane! What is Luke thinking? And you, you're going there? To him?"_

"_Yes. I want to confront him; I need to confront him. I need to look him in the eye and get an explanation. I want to see him face what he's done. His reaction depends on what I do after that."_

"_Meaning?"_

"_Meaning if I have to, I report him to the Alliance."_

"_That could hurt Luke too."_

_Pause. "Luke is an adult. He has to make his own decisions."_

"_Well, you're not going alone, I can tell you that."_

"_Fine, but stay with the ship until you hear from me. Barging in with blasters firing will only complicate things."_

"_Hey, it's me. I'm the very image of calm and reasonable. But he's got a lot to answer for with me too. A lot. Seeing Vader with a blaster hole right through his chest would make me feel a whole lot better."_

"_Well calm and reasonable, you might get your chance, but let me go in first and assess the situation. Deal?"_

"_Hmmm."_

"_Deal?"_

"_Fine."_

* * *

When Anakin felt strong enough to stay up for long periods of time, Lyra helped him move to the outside sitting area that she and Luke had put together complete with an awning made out of tarp they had found in the storeroom. Not quite the covering of beautiful flowering nathema vine that Lyra would have preferred, but it would do. If the terrain had been nicer, it would have been a pleasant spot as it looked out over the valley below Kenobi's home.

About a month into their stay, Luke and Lyra took stock of their provisions and went to the closest town, Mos Espa, to shop for groceries and pick up boxes of supplies that Lyra had ordered off the halonet. They left Anakin sitting outside on the makeshift porch since the hottest weather of the season had not yet arrived, and the day was quite pleasant.

Anakin felt her approach long before he saw the ship. Leia's presence in the Force was strong yet erratic. How had he not felt it before? Anakin sighed. Hopefully one day, one day, his relationship with Leia would be such that she'd forgive and trust him enough to let him train her. So far, according to Luke, Leia had shown no inclination to be a Jedi, which was fine, but she would be better off knowing how to control her power.

Anakin watched as the _Millennium Falcon_ landed. He smiled ruefully. After all the time he spent chasing that ship, it now came to him willingly. He watched Leia walk out and up the long and steep speeder path to the house. He also observed who crept after her. Leia arrived at the top, slightly out of breath and halted suddenly when she saw him. She turned when she heard Solo come up after her.

"Han, I said…"

Solo pulled his blaster out of his holster, and before he could fire, Anakin activated his lightsaber and lunged.


	17. Chapter 17

"Is it just me, or is there really a layer of dust embedded in my skin?"

Luke laughed. "You get used to it. But I have to admit, I've been gone so long that-"

Lyra gasped. Seeing the flash of a lightsaber, Luke hit the speeder's accelerator, and they raced towards Kenobi's house. They arrived to find two alien bodies in pieces, a confused looking Han Solo standing with his mouth open, and Leia kneeling beside an unconscious Anakin.

Lyra ran past Solo and knelt by Anakin. Good, still breathing.

"Ishi Tibs," Luke indicated, gesturing towards the bodies. "What happened?"

Han shook his head incredulously, "I was going to kill him. I had my blaster out and was just about to fire when he lunged past me and cut these two down. I didn't even hear them behind me."

"Help me to get him inside," Lyra ordered.

"I can do it." Using the Force, Luke levitated Anakin's body back to the makeshift hyperbaric chamber in the bedroom.

"Well that's strange, and convenient," Lyra commented. "Thanks." She activated the medical droids, and they moved to monitor Anakin.

After a moment, one droid turned to Lyra. "Our master is very weak. He has re-injured his lungs and will need rest and care if he is to recover." The droid turned away and administered a drug.

_If._ Luke and Lyra glanced at each other then watched the droids work for several moments.

"Why were the Ishi Tibs following you?" Luke asked, turning towards Leia and Han.

Han sighed and shook his head. "Probably worked for Jabba. A lot did. Revenge for putting them out of work maybe? They must have been alerted when we stopped in Mos Eisley to buy some loax cables. A lot of people lost a lot of money when we killed Jabba."

"Luke, maybe you could do the introductions," Lya noted.

"Oh, sorry!"

Lyra smiled and shook Leia's hand. Yep, definitely some Anakin in the confident way she carried herself. Han, for his part, openly stared at Lyra. The "This is Vader's wife, is she a type of bug, does she bite?" look.

After introductions had been made, Lyra gestured for everyone to sit. "So Anakin saw the Ishi Tibs come up after you, and he fought them off with his lightsaber?"

"Yeah, he lunged right past me. I mean, I thought he was coming for me, but he went right past, and then, those two were in pieces. They were each holding tehk'la blades, nasty things those are. Those two were clearly not here to make friends."

Luke leaned forward. "Why did you try to fire on Anakin when Vader deflected your blaster bolts on Cloud City?"

Lyra looked from one to the other. "What?"

"Long story," Luke noted.

"Well, Leia had said that Vader was in a weakened state, and she had asked me to stay in the ship while she talked to him-'

"You're so good at following directions," Leia observed.

"-but," Han slowly shook his head, "I couldn't help it. I was going to kill him. You know and I know he deserved it."

"And instead, he saved your life."

"Yeah...well, there's that."

The conversation was interrupted by a strange howl. "Chewie! He's going to be mad that he missed the excitement."

Moving to the door to greet the new guest, Lyra saw a very large Wookie followed by two droids arriving at the top of the drive. This place was getting really crowded really fast.

"My goodness," exclaimed the protocol droid, stepping around the Wookie. "It is an honor to meet the illustrious Lady Vader. Your reputation stands in sharp contrast to Lord Vader's. I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations. I speak-"

Luke smiled. "Thank you, 3PO."

* * *

Anakin found himself standing alone in the desert. "Why has the Force brought me here?" he thought. Anakin paused as thoughts and feelings assailed him.

_Palpatine smiling, manipulating_

_Padme_

_Scenes of battles_

_Fire_

_Rage_

_Jedi he hunted_

_Shame._

_Relief that Palpatine was gone _

_Anger_

_I killed him_

_Shame_

_I did it to protect my son_

_Lyra has not abandoned me _

_Gratitude_

_My children. I don't deserve to be proud of them. They're the fine people they are _because_ I was not in their lives._

_Shame_

_Leia. What I did to her, and to Solo._

_Shame_

_Regret_

_Shame_

_I was such an idiot to let Palpatine take advantage of my pride and manipulate me._

_The Jedi Council saw this. They were right to deny me a place as a Master. _

_What would the universe have become if I had not been so stupid?_

"Risen, the Empire would have. Believe do you that society revolves solely around you and your actions?"

"Master! How is this possible?"

Yoda chuckled. "Learned your first master did how to join the consciousness to the Force. Taught Obi Wan and myself this and how to appear corporally."

"Obi Wan," Anakin sighed.

"Yes, my friend." Obi Wan Kenobi appeared at Yoda's side. "Now is not the time to marinate in the stew of your anger and regret." Anakin was too stunned to comment on Obi Wan's cheesiness.

"Guilt you have, regret you have. Good these are in that acknowledge your wrong-doing you do. These can also be a path back to the dark, if not handled correctly they are."

"Anakin, you've confronted your wrong-doing and have acknowledged it. That proves that you have returned to the light, but guilt will lead to anger, which can pull you back down into the dark."

"Anakin," a third, familiar voice from long ago sounded. "The flip side of great pride is self-loathing.

"Master Qui Gon!" Anakin said, startled.

* * *

While Anakin lay unconscious, a thoroughly confused Lyra contacted law enforcement, which came and went, taking the bodies of Jabba's henchmen with them. In their hastily arranged story, Luke took Anakin's place in defending Han. Afterwards, Luke turned to Han. "So, Anakin knew you and knew what you were about to do. He could have killed you along with the Ishi Tibs, but he didn't."

"Humph," Han slumped forward and looked down at the ground, pondering.

At this point, Lyra entered the sitting area carrying a tray of drinks and snacks. Setting it on the table, she directed them all to sit.

"I have heard bits and pieces of this story. Now, I want to hear it all."

* * *

"Anakin, Your pride led to your downfall years ago," Qui Gon's voice continued, "don't succumb to self-loathing because through it, you will lash out towards others and continue the hurt. After all, isn't that what you did for years? Let your hatred for yourself fuel your connection to the dark? Sever that connection by learning to forgive."

Obi Wan took a step towards Anakin. "Master Qui Gon's right. The only way forward, Anakin, is forgiveness and love, not living in the past. You've acknowledged the wrong, now begin the process to forgive yourself and in time, Palpatine. The Force still has much for you to do."

Anakin shook his head in disbelief. "Forgive? After all that has happened? How is that possible, or advisable?"

"Anakin," Qui Gon continued, "let go of the narrative in your head, the story you play over and over about what Palpatine did through the years, all the things you did. You acknowledge the wrong. Now, put all that in a box in your mind and close the box. Instead, look to the now. You are not back there; you are here in the present. You've started another chapter in your life. You've lived out when happens when you follow the dark. Now, turn your thoughts to the light. Concentrate on the light and approach the world through love. If you do this, then you can accomplish what the Force has for you to do."

Anakin looked down and signed. "Yes master, and at some point, I must turn myself in."

"Normally that would be the way to go," Qui Gon noted, "but here, that would keep you from doing what you need to do."

"Which is?"

"Discover you will, when right the time is. Tell you now, we could, but accept it you would not."

"That means," Obi Wan said as Yoda's translator, "you will discover your path when you've progressed in the light and can believe in yourself again. You know this is what Padme would want."

"Balance, Anakin." Qui Gon again. "We all have to walk the path between pride and self-condemnation. Keep the balance between the two, and you will have a realistic and healthy view of your abilities and can do what you need to do. Remember, forgiveness is something that has to be practiced continually. Keep your thoughts in the present and focused on love."

"How can I forgive myself when I've done such horrible things? I must atone for them."

"Penance you will do when do what you must."

With that, Yoda and Obi Wan started to fade. "Wait! What if I need you again?

Qui Gon answered, 'We'll talk again, Anakin. Remember what we've said, and do it."

"We'll always be nearby," Obi Wan's voice noted. 'Now, it's time for your body to awaken."

Anakin woke with a start. As he considered the Force vision, his lungs grew a tiny bit stronger.

* * *

"So, Leia ran interference for me with the Alliance, and I brought him here and contacted you. The rest you know." With this, Luke paused to finish his iced muja fruit tea. Han and Leia were silent, thinking back on all they had been through. Lyra sat slumped in her seat, her arms folded and a frown on her face. The first Death Star, Alderaan, Bespin, Jabba, and on and on. After a moment, she stood. "Thank you," she directed to the group and walked outside.

Knowing in general is one thing, but _knowing_ is another.

And now she knew.

* * *

The next morning after an anxiety-filled night, Lyra grabbed a cup of caf and some yogurt and walked back to her chosen spot overlooking the valley. She didn't even bother checking on the now awake Anakin. As Lyra ate, the tension in her grew. "To hell with this," she said out loud. "I'm out of here, and I'm keeping the money."

Lyra stood up, full of wrath and purpose. Right then, a soft voice carried on the wind.

"Anakin needs you now more than ever."

Lyra froze, stunned. She knew _that_ voice, the voice from the holovid of her as a small child laughing with the tall man who took her out of the shimmer willow in her mother's garden and carried her on his shoulders.

"He saved you. Forgive. He needs you; he needs your wisdom and guidance. Forgive. I started this; you need to finish it."

Later that morning…

Lyra approached Anakin as he sat in his usual spot on the makeshift patio. "Good morning," he said, squinting up at Lyra as she stood in the sun. Lyra stared at him for a moment, started to speak, hesitated, put her hands on her hips and turned away for a moment. Turning back to Anakin, she said, "I've heard everything, and I have to forgive you, but first...

_WHAT THE BLOODY FUCKING HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?" _

And so with an impressive string of profanity in seven languages, Lyra Sekai, the former Lady Vader loudly expressed her opinion and critiqued the moral failings of the former Lord Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. A herd of banthas, spooked by the noise, stampeeded. Two Sand People in the valley below looked at each other and nervously moved away. Leia and Han, who had just walked up from the Falcon, sat with Luke sat in stunned silence. A ways away on a dune overlooking the hut...

Yoda sadly shook his head. "Anger leads to the dark side."

"You might need to re-think that, Master," Obi-Wan replied.

* * *

"Lyra…"

"No! I don't want to hear your voice right now. I don't even want to see you." With that, Lyra stalked off. Inside the hut, the three looked at each other: Luke, his eyes wide and Leia with a satisfied smile of triumph. Han nodded and said, "I like her."

Meanwhile, out on the edge of the security zone where no one could hear her, Lyra did what she always did when frustrated or after a bout of anger: she burst into tears.

One hour later…

Lyra walked up to Anakin, still on the patio. He looked up at her with slight trepidation in his eyes.

Lyra moved a chair over and sat directly across from him. "Speak," she commanded.

"What do you…"

"You have just one shot at this; make it good. This is just between you and me right now. Speak."

Anakin sighed and thought. "It all started with my pride. Even as a child here on Tatooine…"

* * *

The heat of the day had reached its height. Sounds below of maintenance performed on the Falcon drifted to the top of the cliff. Lyra signed and sat back in her chair and thought. "I can see how a slave would be attracted to power, and then wanting to save Padme after losing your mother."

"It's not an excuse, just an explanation. I thought I knew everything, and I ended up causing exactly what I feared. I allowed my grief, pride, and anger to drag me further into the Dark." Anakin shook his head, "The promises of the dark and the power of the dark side are just illusions for fools to chase after."

Lyra slowly nodded. "So, where do we go from here?"

"I'm concentrating on the will of the Force, on the light. I _must_ focus on the light to help me heal, but I also need your help to do something, if you're willing."


	18. Chapter 18

"Leia, thank you for coming up. This way." Lyra stood in the doorway and motioned over to the makeshift shaded patio.

Wary but determined, Leia and Han followed Lyra out with Luke right behind. Smiling, Lyra motioned for Leia to sit near Anakin while she and Luke and Han took chairs to the side. Leia sat on the edge of her seat and stared straight at Anakin. Judgement Day.

Anakin held out a data chip to her. "Contact these people. The Nabarrie family of Naboo. Your mother's family. I've been in contact with them, and they're expecting your call. You deserve a parent you can be proud of. Padme Amidala Naberrie. Your mother, Queen and later Senator of Naboo, and my first wife - and a good friend of Bail and Breha Organa. What you tell them of me is up to you. All I've told them is that I've been hiding out on Tatooine. I let them assume the rest."

Dumbfounded, Leia hesitated, looked over at Luke, who was just as puzzled, and then accepted the chip.

"I told them that good friends protected and hid you and Luke as infants, and then put me in touch with the two of you after the Empire fell."

"I don't understand…"

"You're so much like her, and you look so much like her, with a bit of me around the eyes, and you can definitely give my mother's disapproving look." Anakin smiled slightly. "My story starts with her, with Padme. When I was ten, the Jedi knight Qui Gon Jinn, Lyra's father in fact," Anakin nodded over to Lyra, "found me and bought me out of slavery to be trained as a Jedi. Even though I was committed to the Jedi order, my heart always belonged to Padme. Jinn and his padawan, his apprentice, Obi Wan Kenobi were escorting the young Queen Amidala of Naboo to Coruscant when their ship was forced to land here on Tatooine. Here they met my mother and me, who were slaves of..." And so on well into the afternoon, Anakin spoke of Jedi training, secret weddings, premonitions, fears, temptations, arrogance, pride, loss of friendship, tragedy, regret.

* * *

The next day, with the sun blazing overhead, a hurricane blew in. Lyra jumped at the loud knock at the door. Peering through the peephole, she sighed, and hit the open button.

"We have arrived," said Jael.

Well, obviously.

* * *

Jael entered and stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Lyra in shock. Right behind her, Amera ran into Jael and then stopped and stared.

"Yes," Lyra said, "but I'm not sure what it means."

"What's going on?" Luke said, coming up behind Lyra.

"She's a repeller. She repels the dark side of the Force." At the sound of his voice, the group turned towards Anakin, standing in the opposite doorway.

"I sensed it for a long time on Coruscant, but I didn't realize what it was. I was drawn to Lyra, then felt a strong urge to leave. I thought she was corrupting the dark in me, and I needed to leave to renew the darkness. I was right."

"So you are Force sensitive." Amera happily said.

"Oh, and does that raise my value in your eyes?"

"Of course not! You are my daughter and I am proud of you no matter what!" Amera said, uncharacteristically rattled.

"I'm sorry, that was unfair of me." _Actually not._ "I _am_ glad you're here. I just haven't told anyone _why_ you're here." Lyra turned to Luke. "Luke, since Leia and Han are still here, can you invite them up? I hope they'll come; they need to be here to hear this."

After Luke returned with Leia and Han, still awkward around Anakin, Lyra introduced everyone and ushered the group into the small inside sitting area. Jael and Amera settled in two chairs and looked at everyone expectantly. Lyra pulled up the remaining chair for Anakin. Anakin settled in the chair, placing at his feet a small portable oxygen unit he was using less and less. He adjusted the hood of his robes as it threatened to slide off his head. Luke offered Lyra and Leia two stools. Han stood off to the side, his arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

"Speak," Jael demanded of Anakin. "What are you now in relation to the Force?"

"Look, I think Father is tired. I'm not sure why you're here, but maybe it can wait." Luke said, moving forward.

"Trust me Luke, this is important. We need them right now," Lyra said indicating to Jael and Amera. "Have a seat. Anakin, tell us, well, anything. What happened, there at the end?"

Anakin related the events on the second Death Star, corroborating everything Luke had relayed days before. "After rejecting the light for years, I finally admitted my foolishness and how I had been deceived. I gave in to the light and saved Luke. I killed Palpatine in the process, but my focus was on saving Luke and stopping evil. So yes, I embraced the light. Now, I have to live with what I've done in the name of the dark."

Jael stared intently at Anakin while he spoke. She slowly nodded her head. "Truth, he speaks the truth."

"Yes, no doubt about it. You have thoroughly rejected the dark." Amera agreed.

Lyra smiled and looked around. "We've had our own secret for years, hidden so that the Empire wouldn't hunt down Jael and Amera and the others. They're truth sensors. That's their Force talent. They can sense truth and deception. That's why it was so important that they be here today. They can confirm that Vader is truly gone."

Jael crossed her hands on top of her walking stick. "So," she began, "what is to be done?"

Luke looked around at the others, feeling a cross between schoolboy and defendant on trial. "Uh, well, we're here while our father focuses on utilizing the light side of the Force to heal himself."

"And can you?" Jael said, looking at Anakin. "After so many years following the dark side, can you fully harness Ashla?"

"Ashla?" Luke asked.

"That's an ancient name for the Force. The order of Kir Zaleh, their order," Lyra gestured towards the two women, "still uses that term."

"Well, I'm glad you haven't forgotten everything we taught you. All right, and then what?"

"And then I turn myself in," Anakin said.

Lyra and Luke looked sharply over at him. Leia remained expressionless. Han said nothing.

"Uh..." Luke asked.

"Anakin, let's just pause and think this through. I know you're remorseful and feel the need to pay for your crimes, uh, Vader's crimes, but there's more at stake here than you."

Anakin looked over to Lyra and frowned, puzzled.

"Think of Luke and Leia. How would your going public affect them if it got out that you're their father? Think of Leia's career, what would happen to it?"

"And to you?" Amera said.

Lyra shook her head. "I'd be fine. If anyone in the Alliance finds me and wants information on my time as Lady Vader, I'll tell them the truth, for the most part. I've committed no crimes, and my conscious is clear. If they press for more, I'll note how I met Luke through you two and am helping him and his father Anakin rebuild the Jedi order."

Luke nodded. "Right, we decided that we'd say that Anakin Skywalker fled the Emperor's purge and hid on his home world of Tatooine."

"And was gravely injured fleeing Coruscant when the Empire took over," added Lyra.

"When was all this decided?" Anakin said looking at Lyra and Luke.

"Lyra and I worked on the story right after she arrived. Father," Luke said, leaning forward, "think about it. We can set up a new order, this time correcting many of the mistakes the Jedi made, mistakes like demanding that the Jedi give up all attachments to others."

"Young man, you believe that you can do better than the order of the Jedi and its thousands of years of practice?" Jael peered at Luke.

"Oh, that's rich coming from you, Grandmother," Lyra laughed. Even Amera smirked at that.

"I just want to hear his reasoning. Continue, please."

"Well, Father explained the Jedi's teaching on how fear and anger lead to the dark side as do attachments to people. But, all of these things are a part of human nature. We have them for a reason. Denying them just leads to shame, like _that_ wouldn't lead to the dark side, and caused many, like our parents, to have to sneak around and live a lie."

Amera nodded. "That's exactly what happened. Qui Gon confirmed our theory that there was a hushed-up problem with Jedi secretly frequenting brothels and strip clubs desperately trying to satisfy their need for romantic attachment when all they were doing was satisfying a temporary physical need."

Lyra looked over at Luke, "So what would you do differently?"

"I know it's going to be a lot harder than it sounds, but we'll teach our students how to properly handle these emotions, how to use them for good. So instead of all anger being bad, use anger to work for good instead of anger leading to the dark side."

"Righteous anger," Lyra said, "That's actually what all of us non-Jedis learn, and that's what the Kir Zelah teaches."

Luke nodded to Anakin. "Father, what do you think? Will you help?"

Anakin sighed. "Maybe this is what Master Yoda referred to when he said my path would be revealed. I'll explain later," he added to everyone's questioning looks. "But, I don't know if I can; if I should!" Anakin exclaimed vehemently. "Who am I to be teaching anyone about how to handle the Force? Luke, I'll support your plans, but I don't believe I should be involved."

Jael leaned forward and gave Anakin her best stern look. "Young man, who better than you? Take all that you have done and have learned and use it for good. Do not waste your experience. Are you doubting the will of the Force?"

Anakin's eye widened. She called the former Darth Vader "young man!" "Yes ma'am," he replied meekly. "I mean, no ma'am... All right, I'll think about it. If I do this, _if,_ I'll need plenty of guidance."

"Guidance and oversight and accountability." Jael nodded.

Amera looked over to Luke. "We can certainly help with the organizing and curriculum. We're experts at making fine citizens out of unruly children."

Lyra sighed. "I hate to agree with my mother, but she's right. They do a good job and can help. Now, before we go any further, lunch!"

* * *

For the next half hour, everyone focused on the hot vegetable soup that Lyra had made. Han took his bowl and an extra large bowl for Chewie back to the Falcon while Luke entertained everyone else with the story of first meeting Lyra on Tatooine.

"So here she is at the Mos Eisley spaceport, this very elegant looking woman standing there by this extremely expensive looking speeder, stuffed to the gills, with a crowd of Tatooines' finest staring at her and her ride. A Dandroolinan even got up the courage to run up and touch it!"

Lyra laughed. "Yeah, that was weird. I don't know what he thought my speeder was going to do."

"He probably hasn't washed that hand since."

"Luckily Luke came along right then because I was getting really nervous with that crowd. It wouldn't have taken them any time to overpower me and steal everything."

"She let me drive it here. Nice ride." Everyone laughed and continued eating.

"Mmm, wonderful," Amera reached over to help herself to a second slice of bread. "So, tell us more about what you'll say about Anakin Skywalker."

"Well, Anakin Skywalker," Luke explained, "escaped Coruscant and along with his friend and former master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hid on his homeworld of Tatooine. His children were hidden when their mother Padme died so that the Emperor would not find them. He knew they were strong in the Force as Anakin was, Anakin the Jedi the Emperor had tried to turn."

"And his injuries?"

"Suffered in the fight to escape Coruscant. We'll need to flesh that part out a bit," Lyra noted.

"There's something else." Luke nodded over to Leia. "Leia?"

Leia paused while buttering a piece of bread and set her knife down. "When I went back to the Alliance, I found that the Alliance had gained access to many if not all government databases. I discovered that the person of Anakin Skywalker still exists legally. He was never declared dead, and there are no records that connect him to Vader. There's a government ID that's expired, but that's it. That means, with the proper ID, Anakin can do anything as himself. So, he can go to a local records office, submit a sample for a genetic screen, and when it proves that he's Anakin Skywalker, he can get a new ID and any other legal documents that might need to be renewed."

"So, is there anyone who would know that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker?" Amera asked.

Anakin thought through a short list of people. Most were dead. He looked around. "The only people who know are here. Those who knew before are all dead, and the Emperor purposefully kept no records about my identity, Vader's identity. That made Vader seem much more mysterious and powerful."

Lyra thought for a moment. "There is one thing. After Luke contacted me the first time, I had a sudden thought, and then went back to Vader's palace. I put all of Vader's medical droids in a storage unit on Coruscant. I took their data chips and placed them in the medical droids here. The data about Vader's injuries might be stored elsewhere, but I doubt it given how secretly held the information was, and could anyone use it to link Vader with Anakin Skywalker? I don't think so."

Amera paused before dipping her spoon into her soup. "Speaking of Vader, forgive me for being intrusive, but what happened to Vader's money?"

"I have it," Lyra said.

"All of it?"

"All of it."

The group sat in stunned silence as Lyra explained how she moved the money into her accounts during the trip back to Coruscant. "So, there is some that I'll hold onto, like revenue from certain planets, accounts that were confiscated. In case these were accounts from innocent people, then they might come looking for them, and I'll need to be able to hand them back over. I would already do that if I knew where or from whom these came from originally, but I don't."

"Most if not all did come from criminals, so don't feel guilty about keeping them," Anakin added. "When you feel it's the proper time, maybe you can donate that money to charities on the particular planets. I'll let you handle that; in fact, you can deal with anything financial. One Jedi lesson that did sink in was to have no attachment to financial gain."

"No problem, without those accounts, you'll still have plenty of money to fund the new Jedi academy."

Jael regarded Leia. "And you my dear," she said kindly, "how are you doing?"

Leia sat up straight, looking every bit the princess and leader. "By all rights, I shouldn't be here given my history with Vader. But I _have_ heard him out. Anakin told me everything and asked for my forgiveness. _That_ will take some time, but...but I know that he's changed. I don't just know, I have a deep certainty. It's hard to explain."

Amera beamed. "You too have the talent of sensing truth and discernment. That's why you know things, know with absolute certainty. It's the Force giving you this knowledge. You're just like us." Jael nodded happily.

"Oh Leia, run for your life," Lyra sighed.

"And you, my dear," Amera said, nodding towards Lyra, 'tell us what happened with you in regards to the Force."

Lyra told the group about her experience on the trip to Coruscant. "Could it have happened when the Emperor died? Was he blocking the Force in me?"

"The Force was blocking itself in you. The Emperor would have killed you if he had known what you were," Jael said, staring at Anakin.

"The Emperor never gave any indication that he sensed something in me, so I guess that's good."

"I think, though, that you were corrupting the dark side in me." Everyone turned to look at Anakin as he continued. "I can now see what was happening. As I said earlier, I was naturally drawn to Lyra, then repelled, not by her but by something. It was the Force in her, and I think it was gradually chipping away at the dark in me, very subtly as it needed to be. Now I can look back and see that Lyra was the constant dripping that weakened the dark in me while Luke was the final straw that broke the dam."

"Great, I'm a drip. Thanks," Lyra sighed.


	19. Chapter 19

After lunch, Anakin went out into the dessert to meditate. Lyra opened her datapad and scanned the news. "Nothing right now about Vader and still nothing about me, which is good. _The Conversationist,"_ Lyra nodded towards her mother and grandmother, "is still off-line."

Leia turned as she was drying the plate Luke had handed her. "We're trying to establish contact. They're apparently in hiding on Coruscant. Someone must have figured out who they are."

Lyra, Jael, and Amera looked at each other in amazement. "Who they _are_?" they said in unison.

Luke dried his hands. "Who?"

"_The Conversationist._ A gossip site that specializes in the who's-who of Coruscant high society, particularly Imperial officials. It's a real site, but we recruited them, and they sent coded messages for the Rebellion. We learned a lot about you that way," Leia nodded toward Lyra. "That and we had spies in every high-end establishment from clothing designers to hairdressers. People apparently talk a lot to salespeople and hairdressers."

"So the Rebel Alliance was interested in me? I guess that makes sense seeing whom I was married to, but they must have found me dreadfully dull."

Leia laughed. "No, not dull. We found that you do have excellent taste in gowns. Over time, we were able to establish who you are and who you two are," Leia noted to Jael and Amera. "We also found no evidence of crimes on your part. So, Lady Vader has nothing to worry about."

"That's good," Lyra noted. "What about Vanee, our majordomo? I don't suppose he was spying for the Rebellion."

"No, we thought about trying to make contact, but in the end, he was deemed too high of a risk. Too loyal, in fact anyone who was that close to Vader or the Emperor, voluntarily, was deemed too loyal. It's amazing how much the disgraced officials talked, though."

"I do need to check in with Vanee and let him know I'm okay, except he thinks I'm on Esfir."

"Hold off a while in case someone with the Empire might trace the call. Just in case," Leia advised.

"Agreed," Lyra said.

* * *

For the rest of the afternoon, Luke performed maintenance on the vaporators around Kenobi's hut while Leia wandered back to the Falcon to help Han with the never-ending repairs. Lyra, Jael, and Amera took chairs out to Lyra's favorite spot looking out over the valley.

"Thank you for filling us in about Padme Amidala," Amera said. "I could see there was a story there, but I wasn't comfortable asking about her."

Jael shook her head. "Terrible, just terrible. Yes, Anakin did a great wrong, but the Jedi rules helped to lead to that tragedy." Lyra nodded in response.

"So, have you had time to think about the future?" Amera said, squinting in the sun at Lyra.

"Well," Lyra sighed, "A little bit, but I'm still undecided. Am I needed here? And I know this sounds crazy, but when Anakin talks about Padme, I feel a bit...I don't know if jealous is the right word, but maybe left out? _I'm_ Lady Vader, _I'm_ the wife...oh my gosh!" Lyra suddenly sat up straight. "We're not married! I was married to Darth Vader, who for all practical purposes is legally dead. I am _not_ married to Anakin Skywalker."

"And there must be no connection between Anakin Skywalker and Vader." Jael raised a hand to shield her eyes, "So my dear, you are free. I'm sure Anakin will let you keep some of the money. You can go where you want. We'll always need a good administrator at the school - and who knows, you might make a good priestess," she teased.

Lyra dropped her head in her hands and moaned.

A ways away, motionless on a boulder, the hooded figure listened and considered as the acoustics with a tad bit of Force carried the women's words to him.

* * *

That evening, Han declined Lyra's invitation to dinner but surprisingly, at least to Lyra, offered the remaining two bunks on the Falcon to Jael and Amera for the night. Leia was still understandably awkward around Anakin, but did walk back to the house with Lyra and helped her set the table for dinner.

Amera savored her cheese souffle, "My dear, I don't know where you got your cooking skills from. Not from me, that's for certain."

Lyra laughed and reached for the souffle dish for a second helping when the night calm was shattered by the shrill alarms of the security system.

"That's not Han; he's got the code-" Leia rose right as the house went dark.

Luke moved to a window and cautiously peered out. "The power's been cut. Father, Sand People!"

Anakin turned to Lyra. "Stay here. Get down. Luke, I'll take the back." As Anakin moved silently out the back door, Luke and Leia quietly moved out the front and crouched behind the chairs of the sitting area. Presently, the quiet was shattered by the guttural battle cries of the raiders and the sound of shots from the raiders' cycler rifles.

"What should we do? Do we try to help?" Amera asked as she squeezed in with Lyra and Jael under the table.

Lyra shook her head. "No, we don't have any experience; we'll just get in the way, but…" Lyra looked around and crawled quickly over to her pack by the sofa. Pulling out a blaster, she scooted back under the table.

"Luke gave this to me. Here, we can defend the inside."

"Have you ever fired that?" Jael asked.

"A few times when Luke gave me lessons. If any raiders get through the door, I'm pretty sure I can hit them."

Right then, they heard Luke softly call, "Father!"

"Lyra, no!" Before her mother or grandmother could stop her, Lyra moved out from under the table and raised up to peer at the screen of the security system monitor. Looking out into the yard, she saw Anakin standing in the middle of the yard, motionless, his legs slightly spread and one hand resting on his lightsaber. Shots fired all around him, but Anakin didn't move. Luke activated his lightsaber, but before he could step out, Anakin sprang into action. Moving in a blur, Anakin blocked each shot and struck down each of the raiders, six in all. When it was over, Anakin then looked around, slightly out of breath and deactivated his lightsaber.

"Uh, good job," Luke said jogging over. "I was just about to step in and help."

Right then, Leia ran over and the three ladies hesitantly stepped out of the hut.

"Hey!" Han and Chewie ran up the hill, blasters out. "We were coming to help," Han looked over to Anakin in amazement. "You just stood there out in the open in the gun fire."

"I was gathering the light to me. That's why," Anakin looked over to Luke, "I had to do this myself. I had to fend off the attack, but without anger, and kill but without revenge. Unfortunately, with a Tuskin raiding party like this, you have to kill. They wouldn't have backed off."

"So you did," Leia asked, "fight without anger and kill without revenge."

Anakin smiled slightly. "I did, my thoughts were only to protect."

Leia nodded, "Yes."

Anakin turned to Luke, "Sorry Luke, I'll leave you some bad guys to deal with next time."

"There had better not be a next time," Lyra said as she walked up to the group.

With nervous laughter that comes from the crash after an adrenaline surge, Han, Leia, Luke, and Anakin gathered the bodies and rolled them off the cliff.

"There," Luke said brushing his hands together to get the sand off, "in Tuskin culture, this will mark our victory and will warn other raiders away."

Lyra looked over to Luke and Anakin. "So is it safe for everyone to go back to the Falcon, or should they stay up here tonight? I need to reset the security system."

Both Anakin and Luke nodded. "It's safe," Luke replied. "They're gone. They won't bother us again for quite a while, if ever."

With murmurs of relief, the group split up with Han and Leia escorting Jael and Amera down the long drive to the Falcon. Before the group left, Han looked over to Anakin and nodded. Anakin nodded in return. Lyra watched the exchange with relief.

* * *

"Mother, I don't know if Leia has the time to hear all about your Force philosophy."

"It's okay; I asked since we seem to have the same Force talent."

"See my dear, someone values our input." Amera noted, beaming.

"Oh for heaven's sake." Lyra moved off, leaving them to their droning on. As she passed the front window, Lyra saw Anakin in her usual spot near the cliff overlooking the valley. He stood still looking out, his cloak and hood moving slightly in the light breeze. Normally, Lyra would have left him to his meditations, but now, a strange mixture of curiosity and desire drew her to him. Leaving the ladies to their philosophizing, Lyra left the hut and walked towards the cliff. She paused a few yards from Anakin.

"I was hoping you'd come."

"I was curious. I've never seen you in this spot before." Lyra moved to stand by Anakin. "What a contrast to the view from the promenade back on Coruscant. I know it's not much to look at here, but the sparseness is peaceful."

"I never thought I'd be back here, in fact I swore I'd never come back. And here we are."

Lyra smiled. "This planet does tend to come up quite a bit in your life story."

Anakin nodded as he looked out over the valley. "I've wondered about that. There's a reason why I keep coming back here. There are planets that hold dark side relics; I wonder if this planet has any light side relics. I've never heard of any legends around light side relics here, but it's possible."

Both were silent as they looked out over the valley. Presently Anankin spoke, "Are your mother and grandmother still planning on leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes, they said they don't want to overstay their welcome. Did you know Leia is leaving tomorrow too? She and Han offered Jael and Amera a ride. They're taking them all the way to Esfir, which is nice of them."

"And you?"

"And me?"

"Are you going with them?" Anakin turned to look at Lyra. "I overhead you yesterday. Would it make any difference if I asked you to stay? I'd like for you to stay. We do make a good team."

"Can you handle the real me, the me who voices her opinions?"

"We've both survived it so far."

"You wouldn't be my master anymore."

"Your partner, and husband, in time?"

"It's possible, in time."

* * *

The next morning, Lyra was up bright and early to cook a big going-away breakfast. Anakin attempted to help, but after burning a batch of eggs, Lyra reassigned him to observer and table-setter. As the group arrived, Lyra was pleased to see that it included Han, even if he did take a place at the other end of the table away from Anakin. Luke and Anakin had set the table up outside in the sitting area, and to Lyra's amusement, had attempted to decorate it with her potted plants.

"Here you go, just for you." Lyra smiled and handed Chewbacca his own large platter of eggs and bacon. Chewie roared his thanks and sat down to dig in.

While the group settled down to eat, Leia looked around. "Well, everything is in motion now. Yesterday, I contacted the Alliance and informed them of what Luke has been doing and his plans for the future. I told them that he and I had found out through an old friend about our being twins and that he had come to Tatooine to find our biological father, Anakin Skywalker. There was more than a little excitement when I announced that General Skywalker was alive here on Tatooine. There are several veterans of the Clone Wars who are eager to talk to you," she directed to Anakin. "Oh, and Luke, the Alliance is very supportive of your and Anakin's restarting the Jedi academy. Mon Mothma herself suggested using the old temple on Yavin 4 as your headquarters. Much of the infrastructure from when it was the rebel headquarters might still be there."

"That's great!" Luke replied while Anakin shook his head.

"I'd be living a lie."

"Nonsense," Luke asserted. "You _are_ the General Skywalker who fought in the Clone Wars. There's no lie about that. As for your time on Tatooine, stick to the truth as much as possible. You did come here to recover; you did lie low for a time. That's all true."

Lyra paused and set her pastry down. "Anakin, to give you time to get used to everything, we can put off meeting with anyone for a while and say that you're undergoing reconstructive work now that it's safe for you to come out of hiding. There's an excellent facility on Hosnian Prime. Lady Vader can more than afford it."

"Excellent idea," said Jael.

Anakin looked around and sighed. "Well, I guess it's decided." Several heads nodded.

After breakfast, the group walked out to the Falcon in the valley below. As everyone said their goodbyes, Amera took Luke's hand. "Contact us when you're ready, and we'll do what we can to help."

Leia walked up to Anakin. "Thank you for the information on our mother. The Naberries want to meet Luke and me soon, and you when you're ready."

Anakin smiled. "One day. Good luck with your work with the Alliance. You would make your mother very proud - and you do make me proud."

Leia smiled, unexpectedly shy, nodded her head and turned to walk up the ramp.

Anakin turned towards Lyra and stopped short. Jael stood close in his path, both hands resting on top of her walking stick.

"Jedi," she said sternly, "the Force has given you a second chance. Don't screw it up."


	20. Chapter 20

Fourteen months later…

Amera huffed and puffed as she climbed the steps of the old temple to the ledge where Lyra sat enjoying a cup of caf. The sounds of hammering and drilling drifted up to them. Every now and then, there was a shout for a load to be taken here or there.

"My goodness, I think they should have added a few more steps," Amera exclaimed as she sat down with a huff. "Things seems to be running smoothly, and I think we might even be ahead of schedule. Poor Vanee though, I think Jael is running circles around him."

Lyra laughed. "They've done a great job organizing all this. Like I've said before, we can't thank all of you enough. Luke, Anakin, and I could not have done this without you. We'd still be living in our elderly ship if it hadn't been for you three. By the way, is Jael growing out her hair?"

"Yes, which I have to say, surprised me. She originally got rid of it to help her overcome vanity, why when her hair was always a mess, but now look at her. She's taken to wearing those colorful headcoverings because they help her get past the 'awkward growing out stage,' as she said."

"You know, those are my scarves."

"She broke into the boxes you sent to us and 'borrowed' your scarves. She said that we had nothing suitable."

"Nothing suitable! My gosh, did she say what brought all this on?"

Amera sighed and sat back. "When I asked, all she said was that you're never too old to up your game."

Lyra laughed and shook her head in amazement. "Who is this person, and what has she done with Jael?"

Amera chuckled and asked, "So how did the interview go?"

"Not bad. I made it clear that I guard my privacy, and Caren Jil agreed."

"Caren Jil? Impressive."

"Yeah, she was pretty nice, not too terribly intrusive. I stuck to the truth, and to our cover story, pretty well and said that after Vader's death, I really didn't know what to do. You two had protected several Jedi for years, so I helped you help them as they came out of hiding. That answer seemed to satisfy her, so I didn't even mention Luke or Anakin. Other than that, she just wanted information on what it was like living with Vader and being adjacent to Palpatine's inner circle, or something like that. Nothing I couldn't answer truthfully."

"Good! I can't wait to read it. Now, you said that you'd tell me the full story of how you left Tatooine."

"Yeah, it was a bit earlier than we planned…."

* * *

After Han, Leia, Jael, and Amera left Tatooine, Luke and Anakin spent several months studying Jedi teachings and laying out the plans for the new Jedi academy. Following Anakin's directions, Leia uncovered a large cache of Jedi materials seized and hidden by Palpatine and Vader. Luke and Anakin poured over these and discussed them in fine detail, which Lyra tolerated to a point before the eye-rolling began. Pondering the Jedi teachings was challenging and painful for Anakin as he had to confront hard truths about himself and what he had done. He was also a bit anxious about meeting any Jedi who might come out of hiding. Luckily, Luke and Lyra talked him through these times and reminded him of his Force vision.

Lyra and Anakin spent a week at the reconstruction center on Hosnian Prime, and Anakin's new skin and hair growth were settling in nicely, although his skin was still quite sensitive to the sun. He had taken to spending time riding through the desert on a new speeder bike Lyra had ordered for him. On this day, a prompt in the Force caused Anakin to pause at the top of a cliff overlooking the Dune Sea. A pack of womp rats quickly scurried by him, not even pausing to look at him. Something definitely wasn't right. As Anakin looked through his binoculars, he gasped. Fear and memories of fire and burning shot through him.

Shad'ruu's Fire!

Shad'ruu's Fire was a very rare natural phenomenon that caused the sand to burn. It could sweep through vast spaces on the planet, not stopping until it ran into a mountain or hill that had more rock than sand.

'Lyra! Lyra!" Anakin shouted into his comm link.

"I'm here! What's going on?"

"I'll explain later, but there's a large fire headed your way. You and Luke get to Mos Eisley as fast as you can. I don't think the fire will get that far."

Lyra was already on the move, pulling her jacket on. "Luke is out making repairs, but I can get him. What about you?"

"I've got to warn the Darkspear homestead, then I'll head to Mos Eisley."

"All right, I'm on it. Be careful!"

With that, Anakin cut the connection and speed west.

Lyra ran into the small bathroom and zipped up her makeup bag and Anakin and Luke's shaving kits. She stuffed these into her backpack along with the medication Anakin still took to help his skin heal. Into the pack also went her and Luke's data pads. Running over to the medical droids in the corner, Lyra retrieved their data chips, just in case. Grabbing Luke's jacket and her purse, Lyra was out the door in just over a minute. Running to her speeder, Lyra threw everything in the back and was off. Luke meanwhile had sensed something was wrong and was jogging back to the house. Lyra slammed on the brakes beside him and threw open the door. "Get in!" she yelled, and they were off. Lyra explained everything as they zoomed towards Mos Eisley.

"Shouldn't we help Father?" Luke asked.

"No, he said to go to Mos Eisley, so that's what we should do. We might get caught in the fire if we tried to get to the Darkspear homestead, and he might already be on his way to Mos Eisley."

Meanwhile, Anakin sped towards the neighbor's homestead. About halfway there, he spotted not too far away a group of Jawas already on the move. They ignored him and moved off in their crawler at a high rate of speed.

Moving on, Anakin saw in the distance a group of Tusken Raiders on a hunt. Three raiders, one still on his bantha, with the other two dismounted. Each was armed with the customary poison-tipped gaderffii stick. Years later, Anakin would still ponder in amazement how he didn't hesitate. How to approach the group was the tricky part. Raiders were known to pummel first and ask questions never. Here goes nothing. Anakin hit the throttle and zoomed up at top speed, hoping to catch them by surprise. Once upon them, Anakin slammed on the brakes while holding on to the handlebars for dear life. The raiders whirled around in surprise. Before they could attack, Anakin pointed towards the east and shouted, "Shad'ruu's Fire! Go towards Mos Eisley! Shad'ruu's Fire!" That got them moving. Forgetting Anakin, the two dismounted raiders jumped on their banthas, and the group was off.

While the raiders were mounting up, Anakin sped off and about seven minutes later arrived at the Darkspear homestead. The elderly grandmother came to the door in response to Anakin's shouting and banging. When he explained, she hit the alarm and moved to start up the family's hauler. As Anakin rode off, the family was running towards the house with two dogs at their heels.

Anakin rode into Mos Eisley without further delay. Word of the fire had spread, and speeders, haulers, and riders on banthas and other creatures streamed into town. Anakin connected with Lyra and met up with her and Luke at an old tavern Luke had known. On a normal day, a tavern in Mos Eisley would be filled with less than reputable beings, but today, it was full to overflowing with all types who had fled the fire. Business was booming. So they could hear better, Lyra, Luke, and Anakin took their drinks and moved outside. As they left, the Darkspear family entered, all talking at once, arguing about where to go next. As they passed, the parents shook Anakin's hand, and the grandmother gave him a quick hug. They then went back to their arguing, the dogs joining in.

"Oh my!" Lyra laughed as they settled on a bench. "What a day."

"Do you think the fire got to Ben's homestead?" Luke asked.

"Probably," Anakin nodded. "It was heading that way."

"Well," Lyra sighed, "now's as good a time as any to leave. I've been thinking that maybe we should just buy our own ship. Later, we can get something far better, but this space port looks big enough that I think we can find something that will do in the meantime. I have my purse, so I can easily pay."

In the end, they took off later that day in a smaller cruiser left over from the late Republic era. The previous owner had kept it in good shape, so after buying supplies, they were off.

* * *

"When we landed, the temple area was a big mess. With more than one battle between the Empire and the Alliance and the wildlife in the area, the whole complex was uninhabitable. Luke, and Leia I might add, were attached to the place because of its historical significance and because they had both served here. Leia put out the word, and people began arriving to help, including many who wanted to be Jedi. The rest you know: we hired some skilled craftsmen who helped to get this place up and running, and you and Jael arrived. I think we ended up living on the ship about eight months total."

"I imagine Vanee was shocked when you contacted him."

Lyra laughed, "My goodness yes. I explained that I was helping Luke, who was an old friend of yours, slight fib there, and another person he might be familiar with. He instantly figured it out, and to Vanee's credit, didn't hesitate to come. Seeing Anakin as Anakin instead of as Vader took some practice on his part, but he's adjusted well."

"How has Anakin been with the soldiers and others who came to see General Skywalker?"

"Better than I expected. He didn't have to lie, for the most part, and they all fell into story after story of the Clone Wars. He seems more comfortable with that than with training the new Jedi. Oh, a quote unquote 'anonymous source' has been sending Leia information on Imperial secrets. So, working with her has kept Anakin very busy, busy and happy."

"And the two of you?"

"We'll see."


	21. Chapter 21

Yavin in early spring is a sight to behold: bright sun, warm breezes, and climbing ferns that send out tiny white blossoms that give the appearance of a faint dusting of snow gracing the jungle. On this day, a light breeze moved through the tops of the trees, and fortunately for all, the humidity was quite low. The wedding festivities carried on through most of the afternoon, and the happy couple were finally waved off on their honeymoon.

Lyra leaned over to Anakin and Amera. "Vanee doesn't know what he's in for."

Anakin smiled. "It's good to see Vanee happy, and I enjoy seeing Jael turn into a giggling, blushing bride."

"Giggling and blushing. I'm going to remind Mother of that for some time," Amera said, smiling and turning to Leia, who had just walked up.

"Can we have a word? You too Lyra."

"Perfect excuse for me to have more cake. I'll see you later." Amera nodded at the three and moved off to the overflowing refreshments table.

Leia nodded to Anakin. "You and I had the same idea at the same time: an elite military unit of Force users. The Alliance leadership likes the idea and would love for General Skywalker to help create it and advise it."

Anakin beamed in happiness. "Absolutely! I doubt I could physically participate in any missions, but I can certainly help design and train the unit. This is the perfect solution for Force users who have the talent but don't want to be Jedi."

"Not even with the change in Jedi rules that Luke is making?" Lyra asked looking from Leia to Anakin.

"Well, it gives them another option, a choice that should have existed a long time ago."

"Sounds like there's a story here," Lyra noted.

"Luke! Over here. Amera, you too please," Anakin called. "You're right, there is a story."

The group settled in a huddle while the party carried on around them. All eyes were on Anakin.

"As a padawan, I never fit in with the other children. They grew up together from infancy in the Jedi temple while I had been a slave and had seen and experienced things they never had. I did have some friends I played with on Tatooine, but I never played or hung out with the other padawans. My social skills were different plus I was more adept at using the Force, and of course I showed off, hoping that they'd like me more. It had the opposite effect. Working with Luke, and looking back with an adult's perspective, I can see that not only was I not right for the Jedi, but they were not right for me. In a perfect world, I would have been trained on how to use the Force and then utilized my skills in some sort of special military unit. I would have fit in better and would have been happier. I wish someone would have thought about that back then. Anyway, I tell you this because I proposed the idea to Leia but didn't expect the Alliance to take me up on my offer."

Leia's turn. "I too had thought of the idea from watching Anakin and Luke, and I happily introduced Anakin's offer to the Alliance. As we know, General Skywalker has his fans, and the Alliance has enthusiastically endorsed the idea. For the time being, the unit will be headquartered on Chandrila. The new Republic's just named Chandrila as one of the planets that will host the new capital for a time."

"So what about the Jedi academy?" Lyra asked.

Everyone turned to Luke. "If this is what Father wants, then I'm fine with it, just as long as I can still have his help every now and then."

Amera looked over at Luke and Anakin. "You might tag team for a while, combine groups and then separate them into specialties as time goes by. Anakin's can go off into the military unit and the others can do whatever."

Luke nodded. "Yes, they'll specialize in whatever."

When the laughter died down, Anakin nodded to Luke. "Amera's got a good idea. We can discuss it more later."

As the group drifted apart, Lyra subtly pulled Luke aside. "I've been watching Leia, the way she looks at Anakin. There's still something unresolved there. I don't blame her, mind you, but I just wish something could be overcome, if that's possible - and it may not be. I don't dare say anything to her."

Luke shook his head. "No. She and I have had many conversations, and there's trauma that might never be healed. Plus, Leia sees a lot of herself in him. It scares her that if he fell, then she could too. I've tried to reason with her and told her that the odds of her of all people falling to the dark side are slim, but she's still hesitant. Anyway, I told her that we can't undo the past, but maybe she and Father can move forward to something new. Surprisingly, Leia agreed, so we'll just have to see."

Lyra smiled. "Good, I was glad to see that she supports his idea, so that's a start."

"Oh, hey!" Luke lightly grasped Lyra's elbow and pulled her in closer. "Are you going to Chandrila with Father? I don't want to pry, but...well, there's been a lot of discussion…"

"Discussion? About me?"

"Look, everyone really likes you and sees the effect you have on Father. He needs you, and we'd all feel better-"

"You're not scared that he'll turn back to the dark side, are you?"

"Oh no, no. Just for him in general with all he's been through in his life, you're good for him."

"And what about what I need?"

Luke looked taken aback. "Oh of course, I mean, whatever you want, um… I'm sorry; I'm being such a jerk. Yes, you, and us, need to do what you need to do to support you in doing what you need... I'm not making sense, am I?"

Lyra smiled. "Luke, I will consider the situation and will do what is best."

Luke nodded as he slowly backed away. "Okay, well uh...thanks."

Lyra thought for a moment and then called out, "Luke, I'm sorry," and moved over to him. "It's just that for most of my life, I've been told that I exist for another. Even when I was allowed to make my own choices about my life, it was still stressed that I was made to serve another. You know, at some point, it has to be about me. _My_ life is just as worthy. I get to do what I want to do - for me. That might sound selfish, but that's the way it is."

Luke nodded and smiled. "I understand. My uncle kept trying to steer my life, and even though he was trying to protect me, I needed to do what _I _needed to do. So, yeah, I get it." Luke paused and then asked, "I know this is none of my business, but do you have feelings for him? No judging, I swear; I'm just asking because, well..."

Lyra laughed. "It's okay," she sighed. "I've thought a lot about that lately, and maybe this sounds like I'm contradicting myself given what I just said, but sort of. Yes, there is something there; what that means for the future, I don't know. Anakin has been extremely kind and has gone out of his way to accommodate me in any way he can. Even as Vader, he was respectful and as crazy as this sounds, there was always some sexual tension."

"Oh lord," Luke groaned.

"I would have been long gone if there were no feelings, emotionally and physically. Do you want to know if we've, you know…"

"Gods no! Good talk, bye!" With that, Luke sped off.

* * *

Later that evening, most of the guests had left, and the few who remained retreated to their quarters to rest before a light dinner. Enjoying a cup of caf on her patio on the side of the main temple, Lyra observed a few Jedi trainees below horsing around while they cleaned up after the wedding luncheon. At that moment, they were hard at work utilizing a couple of centerpieces as headdresses.

Lyra glanced over to the sound of boots on the stone steps. Anakin landed in the chair beside her, slightly out of breath.

"Good party. You did a nice job."

"Thanks. Having V-8 helped a lot. Mother attempted to help, but her experience as a priestess did not prepare her for party organizing."

Anakin laughed. "So, what do you think about Leia's offer?"

"It sounds good. I think it will fit you well."

Anakin smiled broadly. "Yes! For the first time in decades, I'm truly excited. But, I want to talk about you. I overheard you and Luke talking."

"Reaching out with the Force?"

"Standing behind the tree eavesdropping."

"And why exactly did you feel the need to eavesdrop?"

"I was actually walking by and heard Luke ask if you were going with me to Chandrila. I'm glad I heard the rest. I just wish you felt free to say the same to me."

"I think it's been in the back of my mind for a while, and Luke's question brought it out."

"Well, you're right; your life _is_ just as important. So, what do _you_ want to do? I know what I prefer, but that's not the issue. This decision is yours, and I don't want our _activities_ to cloud your judgement."

"Our activities might just cloud my judgement." Lyra smiled, "The sneaking around's been fun."

"You loose woman, you."

"Yes, well, I'm blinded by lust."

Anakin laughed.

"I think Luke and Leia think that I help drive the dark away from you."

"Maybe, but you can't let that determine your life. Besides, as someone who's been in the dark, it's not a place I want to go back to. Seriously, I'll be fine. This is about what you want. You've always wanted to be a writer, maybe now's the time." Anakin reached over and held Lyra's hand. Scooting from his chair, Anakin knelt in front of Lyra. "You can go with me; you can stay here; _I_ can stay here with you. We can officially re-marry or not. It's about you now. Lyra Sekai, my life is for you. I serve you."

Anakin kissed her hand and rose to leave. As he approached the steps, Lyra jumped up and called out, "Anakin! I appreciate it, I do." Lyra drew a deep breath. "All right, the time is right. We'll make it official, and we'll go to Chandrila."

"You're sure you want this?"

"Yes, yes I do."

Anakin closed the distance between the two, and peered down with a lopsided grin. "And can you leave your clothing here? After all, such loveliness should not be covered up."

This was met with a finger stab in the chest. "Jedi, the Force has given you another chance. Don't screw it up."

The End.


End file.
